Know Your Wedding Dress Fabric: Silk

Sep 18, 2009 by Lauren

Mikado

To get a better idea of what you want your wedding dress to look like, you need to be a little bit familiar with fabrics used to construct wedding dresses. A good number of wedding dresses are made of silks, with China still being the world’s larger producer and exporter of silk. Most silk weaves used are opulent, luxurious, and suggest a certain formality ideal for a wedding dress, but not all silk weaves look the same or are used the same way. Loosely woven silks like crepe and charmeuse are best for drapey gowns whereas tightly woven silks such as duchesse satin are used on structured ball gowns. The silk fabric you’ll be using depends on your wedding dress’s style, the formality of you wedding, and the time of day. Check out the jump to view the different silk weaves used to make wedding dresses

Brocade

Brocade is a heavy fabric used for structured wedding dresses and is characterized by elaborate patterns, which are created by combining glossy and muted threads. Due to its thickness and weight, brocade is best for fall/winter weddings and for sheath silhouettes, A-line silhouettes, and bridal suits.

Charmeuse or crepe-backed satin is the lightest of all satins. Widely used to construct 1930′s Hollywood glam dresses, charmeuse has a glossy finish that drapes beautifully over the body, making it best for bias-cut dresses or slip style dresses.

Chiffon is a transparent, delicate fabric that is best for ruffles, airy trains, billowing sleeves, and ruched bodies. Most see-through dresses with a slip underneath are made of chiffon. Chiffon can also be used to layer full skirts.

Crepe is a lightweight fabric characterized by a crinkled surface. Although crepe can be made of cotton and wool, silk is still the best fabric because of its lovely drapey effect. Like charmeuse, crepe looks lovely in bias-cut dresses, chemise-style dresses, and shirtwaists.

Duchesse Satin

Duchesse Satin is a medium-weight satin characterized by a glossy finish. Most traditional wedding dresses are made of duchesse satin because of its versatility – it looks great on straight and full silhouettes.

Gauze is transparent fabric even lighter than chiffon, and is often used in veils, light trains, and scarves.

Mikado is a medium weight silk with a lovely luster. A number of designers now use mikado for full skirts and A-lines because of the gorgeous sheen of the fabric.

Organza

Organza is a light, transparent fabric that was once used on summer dresses only. Now, organza is used all year round on full skirts, A-line skirts, veils, trains, overlays, and drapes.

Shantung is a rough plain silk that’s ideal for lining if light enough. Silk and synthetic shantung is often used on bridesmaids dresses.

Taffeta is a stiff fabric with criss-crossing weaves. It can have either a muted finish or slight luster. Taffeta is ideal for ball gowns and A-lines because it can add volume and shape without being bulky or heavy.

Tulle is a fine mesh net characterized by a hexagonal pattern. Tulle is what most bridal veils are made of, although Vera Wang used tulle to create the ballerina look that became popular a few years ago. If you’d like your skirt to be made of tulle, use special effects like ruching, draping, and other treatments to create an edgier look.

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