Watered Changeable Silk, WSV 187

100% Silk, 55″ Wide

It’s hard to describe this fabric! It’s just as challenging to photograph it. A small swatch wont show the effect it has. This crisp changeable silk is made of light blue & red in the weft & black in the warp giving this an overall purple look that changes from blue to purple but has squiggles, similar to the grain in wood, throughout the fabric that was created in the 18th century by huge hot rollers pressing the wet fabric which was called watered. This will make a stunning gown, or petticoat, either men’s or women’s jackets, a banyan or wrapper or may be used to cover bonnets or straw hats. As an example, in the book Wives, Slaves, & Servant Girls there is an entry for 1776 in The Pennsylvania Evening Post, “Ran away . . . an Irish servant girl . . . She also took with her a changeable mantua gown”. For hand sewing try quilter’s thread of which several colors will work such as pink 37, or blue 18.