Silk Road Needle Arts

                        St. Petersburg, Florida

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Cotton vs Silk

We carry a good selection of both cotton and silk threads. As you can tell from the name of our shop, we are partial to silk threads. Here are some reasons for you to consider using silk in your projects, especially for the design area.

1. Silk has its sheen built in naturally; cottons have to go through a chemical process (mercerization) in order to create a sheen. Cotton will lose its sheen through wet blocking and through perspiration and oils on your hand.

2. Silk has a reputation of being difficult to use. Yes some of them are quite contrary (we DON'T stock them). The stranded silks we carry (Rainbow Gallery Splendor, Soie d'Alger, Soie Cristale, & Waterlilies) handle as easily as embroidery floss--little kinking and tangling. The twisted (pearl-type) silks handle as easily as pearl cotton in addition to having an incredible sheen!

3. With a variety of silks to choose from, silks are more affordable than you may have expected. Splendor and Soie Cristale are 12-ply as compared to Anchor floss which is 6-ply.

4. We believe that if you are going to invest your time and money in a project, you should let the materials match that project. For the hours you spend in creating a piece of needlework, why not include the best threads.

5. The feel of silk is incredible (but you already knew this.)