‘Festival’ rust & gold spotted silk chiffon fabric

Rich ochre gold, vibrant rust red and olive-taupe tones in an abstract design and scattered with spots. There’s a mid-century feel to the exuberant design of this spotted silk chiffon fabric that evokes the spirit of the Festival of Britain, hence its name.

What kind of fabric is this?

This is a 100% silk fabric; it’s almost completely sheer (see-through) but with a little shaded opacity afforded by the depth of colour in the print. Tips for working with sheer fabrics such as this one include:

• Spray your fabric with a fine starch spray before cutting in order to stabilise the fabric on your cutting table
• Use a fine ‘Sharp’ needle for stitching
• Reduce your stitch length a little
• Don’t stitch back-and-forth at the beginning and end of a seam! Leave long bobbin and spool threads for tying-off. You can also gently hold the tension on these threads behind your presser foot to ease the fabric through as you start to stitch
• Use French seams as a means of strengthening your seams as well a finishing them tidily.
• Test your machine on an off-cut before starting on the garment itself.

What does this fabric feel like?

Our rust and gold spotted silk chiffon fabric has a slightly textured feel and just a little fresh crispness. It’s very soft next to the skin, almost gossamer-like.

How does this fabric move?

This fabric floats on the air and drapes with soft, rounded folds. You can see how it behaves in this video.

Do I need to line this fabric?

Sheer fabrics are normally used as a layer over other garments or as a deliberately semi-see-through design element in a garment. For that reason lining is usually counter-productive.

What can I make with this fabric?

French seams will be the order of the day for making up this spotted silk chiffon fabric. They’ll provide an elegant finish as well as a little definition for your finished garment. Blouses, tops, unstructured robes and overshirts will all be options for this fabric although as a sheer fabric you’ll want to consider camisoles or layering as a means of bringing a little modesty to the party.

We love the spirit embodied in the Venus Robe pattern shown here – we think it would be the perfect design for our rust and gold spotted silk chiffon fabric – and a great design to try if you’re new to sewing with sheer fabrics.

Alternatively you could simply opt for a beautifully hand-hemmed scarf to drift over your shoulders.

Fabric width

130cm

Fabric composition

100% silk

Fabric care

We recommend hand-washing this fabric – see our Fabric care pages for more information.