Should I use cotton or silk for silk shading?

Is cotton a better choice for silk shading?

Since lately I’ve received a few questions about whether or not silk shading (needle painting, long and short stitch shading, soft shading…) should be worked in silk or in cotton, I figure there must be more people out there with the same query.

So today I thought I’d address the question, following up on last week’s article on my case for using silk in hand embroidery.

I think there’s more to this than just an “either / or” answer. So let’s chat about it!

The weekend is upon us! YAY!

I’ve drawn the random winners for the Virtual Threads needlework calendars (with 13 free downloadable projects to work throughout the year), so I’ll announce those today.

I’ve also put together a little list of inspiration, ideas, questions, needlework news and whatnot, for your weekend explorations.

So… pour yourself a hot little beverage, pull up a chair, and let’s have a chat!

If you can embroider it in cotton, you can embroider it in silk.

That is, if you can embroider something in cotton and end up with good results, you can embroider it in silk, and end up with equal, and even quite possibly, better results.

I thought we should have a chat about silk embroidery thread, since I’ve received a few questions lately about using silk on Tulip Festival, this embroidered kaleidoscope series we’ve been working through together.

I’ve also received a few questions about silk in other embroidery applications, but that’s an article for another day! I’ll be addressing a particular argument that’s been surfacing a bit in the needlework world, to see if we can overcome some hazy notions about silk in needle painting.

Today, though, we’ll just talk in general about silk. Hopefully, if you’re wavering between the cotton vs silk thread question, this will give you something to think about and perhaps, with some, it will overcome a fear of using silk.