That silk shirt I thrifted taught me a hard lesson about interfacing

I picked up this gorgeous navy silk blouse for $8 last Saturday at the Goodwill on Broadway. It had these amazing puffed sleeves but the collar was totally floppy and sad. I figured I'd just iron on some new interfacing and call it a day. Well I grabbed this cheap heat-n-bond stuff from Joann's without checking the temperature rating. Within maybe 2 minutes the silk started puckering and bubbling under the heat. I peeled it off and there was this permanent sticky residue that looked like a cloudy stain. The whole collar is ruined now. I should have used a sew-in interfacing or at least tested a scrap first. Has anyone else wrecked a good thrift find trying to fix something small like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

claire99926d ago

Oh man, that hurts my soul. Silk is so unforgiving. I melted a rayon scarf the exact same way years ago and the stain never came out. You're totally right that sew-in is the way to go with delicate fabrics. Heat-n-bond is for cotton t-shirts, not fancy thrift finds. At least it was only $8, but I know the feeling of ruining a perfect piece. It's like the universe laughing at our sewing skills. Next time test a hidden spot first, even if you're impatient like me. Saved my butt more than once since that scarf disaster.

tyler_hernandez26d ago

That's not quite right about heat-n-bond just being for cotton tees though. There actually is a specific heat-n-bond for silks and delicates called featherweight. I found out the hard way too after ruining a rayon dress. The regular stuff is way too heavy and the adhesive melts at a lower temp than you'd think. But yeah sew-in interfacing is always safer if you're not sure about the fabric, especially with thrifted stuff where you don't know how it was washed or stored before. I keep a little notebook now with temperature settings written down for different interfacing brands because my memory is garbage.