Silk Long Underwear

hlat said:
A tip for buying through wintersilks. They are constantly having coupon code sales. For example, these are from the last month alone.

Flash Sale 30% off sitewide + Free Shipping on order of $50 or more

Take an additional 40% off Clearance + get $5 shipping

You just need to sign up for their mailing list, and they will constantly spam you, but that is how you get those coupon codes.

Only for the USA.

Pretty expensive outside the USA.
 
I ordered silk underwear from Sierra Trading Post for a good price + VAT charges for overseas shipping. They are comfortable and came in handy over the winter. Overall I think Sierra have some good quality stuff though I haven't tries Wintersilks' or NZ's products.

I was also looking for silk socks but haven't found any that are 100% silk. Understandable as they may tear easily.
 
I really like the 100% silk socks I got from wintersilks. They are the most comfortable of all my socks, so I'll probably get more the next time I see 30-40% off.
 
hlat said:
I really like the 100% silk socks I got from wintersilks. They are the most comfortable of all my socks, so I'll probably get more the next time I see 30-40% off.

Ooh I'll give Wintersilks a browse, thanks hlat :)
 
After the C's mentioned the properties of mulbery silk in 2009 I bought a lot of my silk clothes on ebay, but you never really know, if they are made from real silk. With a heavy heart I finally decided to buy a m-silk duvet, which I absolutely love, even though it was really pricey.
Now I changed sides to buying discounted m-silk wool in hoping I will learn to knit someday :).

There is a new shop in Berlin, that has ladies's fashion on sale right now (20% off till 31. July 2014).
They also ship to EU states, here are their conditions:
Conditions for delivery

Delivery within Germany

Parcel Economy 5,95 €, free shipping for orders over 100,00 €For orders up to 15,00 € you can select "Brief/Warensendung" for 2,50 € DHL Domestic Express 19,00 € Pick up in Leipzig: no shipping fee

Delivery international

EU and CH: parcel 19,00 € per deliveryWorldwide: parcel 49,00 € per deliveryDHL Express EU + CH 99,00 € per deliveryDHL Express to remote areas (peripherical areas in Europe ) + 20,00 € Oversized goods by DHL Express + 20,00 €
 
hlat said:
I really like the 100% silk socks I got from wintersilks. They are the most comfortable of all my socks, so I'll probably get more the next time I see 30-40% off.
My socks are getting holes about 6 months later. So it looks like 100% silk doesn't last long. I just placed an order for more and see how it goes.

There's a sale now 20% off plus free shipping in US on orders over $49, code U7412 ending Monday 10/13/2014.
 
Some of my wintersilks clothing has been wearing out and getting holes rather quickly, so I can't recommend them anymore. The socks are a staple that have not been discontinued so I've returned/exchanged them for new ones from wintersilks, but some of the the button up shirts are no longer in stock so replacements are not available.
 
hlat said:
Some of my wintersilks clothing has been wearing out and getting holes rather quickly, so I can't recommend them anymore. The socks are a staple that have not been discontinued so I've returned/exchanged them for new ones from wintersilks, but some of the the button up shirts are no longer in stock so replacements are not available.

I found by hand washing my "silkies" they last a lot longer.
 
hlat said:
Some of my wintersilks clothing has been wearing out and getting holes rather quickly, so I can't recommend them anymore. The socks are a staple that have not been discontinued so I've returned/exchanged them for new ones from wintersilks, but some of the the button up shirts are no longer in stock so replacements are not available.

The thin weight variety wears out much quicker than the heavy weight stuff. And ya wash it by hand.
 
m said:
hlat said:
Some of my wintersilks clothing has been wearing out and getting holes rather quickly, so I can't recommend them anymore. The socks are a staple that have not been discontinued so I've returned/exchanged them for new ones from wintersilks, but some of the the button up shirts are no longer in stock so replacements are not available.

The thin weight variety wears out much quicker than the heavy weight stuff. And ya wash it by hand.

Also, only air dry.
 
I went to a few local as-is stores and found several silk shirts. They are not necessarily the shiny super-smooth stuff you expect for silk, but apparently it is harder to tell when it is woven like normal fabric. I am not 100% sure it is all real, but they pass the burn test, smelling like burnt hair and giving crisp black crumbly ash. I have also inspected them under a cheap microscope and there is no obvious sign they are fake.

The problem is, most of them are large size, which is too big for me. So I I have been thinking of trying to shrink them intentionally:

http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-shrink-clothing.html

Thoughts?
 
monotonic said:
I went to a few local as-is stores and found several silk shirts. They are not necessarily the shiny super-smooth stuff you expect for silk, but apparently it is harder to tell when it is woven like normal fabric. I am not 100% sure it is all real, but they pass the burn test, smelling like burnt hair and giving crisp black crumbly ash. I have also inspected them under a cheap microscope and there is no obvious sign they are fake.

The problem is, most of them are large size, which is too big for me. So I I have been thinking of trying to shrink them intentionally:

http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-shrink-clothing.html

Thoughts?

I wouldn't dry silk in the sun, as they suggest, since it can damage it. From my experience silk shrinks on its own after you wash it a couple of times.
 
monotonic said:
I went to a few local as-is stores and found several silk shirts. They are not necessarily the shiny super-smooth stuff you expect for silk, but apparently it is harder to tell when it is woven like normal fabric. I am not 100% sure it is all real, but they pass the burn test, smelling like burnt hair and giving crisp black crumbly ash. I have also inspected them under a cheap microscope and there is no obvious sign they are fake.

The problem is, most of them are large size, which is too big for me. So I I have been thinking of trying to shrink them intentionally:

http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-shrink-clothing.html

Thoughts?

You may have gotten some noil silk shirts, sometimes called raw silk. It's made from the shorter fibers left over from spinning the shiny thread. Not as pretty as what you normally think of as silk, but still authentic for our purposes.

From Wikipedia:
Noil is the short fiber left over from combing wool or spinning silk and used as a decorative additive for many spinning projects, like rovings and yarns.[1][2] Silk noil is also called "raw silk", although that is a misnomer. As noil is a relatively short fiber, fabric made from noil is weaker and considered less valuable.

The plural noils is also used, and means the same as noil.

I have a noil shirt which despite the warning above is woven from a a heavy-weight thread and has proven quite durable. I use the delicate cycle in the washer and woolite or some other soap for delicates. Flat dry and keep it out of the sun. No outdoor line drying! With care, silk noil should stand up for years.

Rather than trying to shrink the fabric which could damage it badly, why not see if you can have the shirts altered?
 
I did think of cutting them up to make quilts with, or having them tailored and asking the tailor to use the trimmings to make scarves for instance. It may be a good option, if the cost of tailoring is not more than the cost of a new silk shirt. If that's the case, then it may all just be a waste of money unless I can sell the shirts.

We have a front-loading washer which is less dangerous than a top loading washer, so machine washing is more feasible. However I'm not sure how far I can push this, I'm not sure how to know which shirts actually need to be hand-washed (most of them say machine washable). However these are men's shirts which seem to steer clear of very delicate washing requirements. What kind of soap do you use?
 
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