Silk jersey is the recommended fabric for the Vogue V2925 top, but it is difficult to find.None of my usual fabric sources seem to carry it.
After
much searching on Google and on the Pattern Review forums, I have
finally found a place that has silk jersey in a wide selection of
colors: Mood Fabrics.
It is $25/yard, but this is the lowest price I could find for this
fabric. One woman on Pattern Review ordered it and was very happy with
the quality. It might be worth taking a trip to the city one weekend to
visit the store.
UPDATE: Late yesterday morning I placed an order from Mood Fabrics for one yard of white silk jersey.
Mood Fabrics has incredible turnaround
time! My order was shipped within hours of placing the order, and
it arrived at my doorstep (in CT) this afternoon.
As I mentioned
above, I ordered the jersey in white. The description said winter
white. I’m not exactly sure what winter white is, but I would say the
silk is more like like cream or ivory than the average run-of-the-mill
white. I was perfectly happy with this; I did not really want a bright
white for the suit shell I plan on making with this jersey.
The
selvage edges are serged instead of finished with the usual stiff glue.
They do not roll inward or outward unlike cotton or cotton/rayon
jersey. The texture is a lot like one of my store-bought tank tops,
which is a nylon knit: thin, a bit shiny, with excellent drape. The
silk is not as buttery soft as a cotton or rayon knit, but is still
softer and thinner than nylon or matte jersey.
At $25/yard, if I
were doing a more complicated style I would first make a muslin out of
matte jersey. The drape is very similar, and the matte jersey is much
cheaper. The matte jersey is a little thicker, but both are such stable
knits that I imagine the fitting difference would be negligible.
Overall
the silk feels durable and well-made. Like matte jersey or nylon knit,
it is vulnerable to picks and snags, but at the same time feels like it
could stand up to many years of wear in the typical office environment.
I
never dry clean, so my preshrinking treatment will be hand-wash in cold
water with a bit of shampoo, and air dry on an indoor drying rack. I
don’t believe in dry cleaning silk. The Chinese have for thousands of
years cared for silk garments without dry cleaning chemicals, and even
today most Chinese women own silk garments and care for them by gently
hand-washing in cold water. I own several silk garments and have cared
for them this way without any ill effects. I’ve also had good luck
preshrinking wools this way.