Spun silk is much weaker than reeled silk. I can think of only two uses for
the current Guetermann silk: as a substitute for cotton when you want
decorative stitching that isn't shiny, or seams that aren't stronger than
the fabric, in a thread that requires the same cleaning methods as wool.
I must have made my acquaintance with Gutermann "after the change", because I never knew it (about 5 yrs, always the 100 m spools) as anything other than spun, matte, and not very fine silk. I don't entirely agree with Joy's assesment of it though. It is still quite a bit stronger than a cotton thread of the same thickness/ply number. And, while not as lustrous as filament silk, it does have a bit more of a sheen than most cottons.
Also, for me as a lacemaker (BL), it has one advantage over filament silk -- being matte, it's less slippery. Definitely an advantage when you're trying to finish off a piece with as little effort as possible (darning in 50 loose ends is not my favourite passtime) but with enough security to withstand washing and other mistreatment :)
I've found a web site that sells real reeled sewing silk
< http://www.silkthings.com/threadsindex.asp >, but I still have plenty of
Belding Corticelli sewing silk, so I haven't bought anything from them yet.
Give it a shot one day <g> I, too, have a stash of old Belding Corticelli (size A) but, as I don't feel it's fair to publish patterns which use thread that I know is no loger available, I looked for substitutes, and also came up with Tire as the overall winner, at least for US; Kinkame is a bit thicker (and not as lustrous) the YLI palette isn't as extensive. I could wish though that there were outlets for it outside US and that there was a bigger range of colours in sizes other than "machine sewing"; there were many times when I could have splurged (silk's never cheap) on a 100 if I could only find the right gimp for it but, nooooo.... Not only are there few colours in those, they neither duplicate, nor complement...
----- Tamara P Duvall mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Lexington, Virginia, USA Formerly of Warsaw, Poland
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