what can i use insted of silk ?

[Brian la Zouche]

i'm looking to make a banner, and i am led to believe silk was used however i cant find the colour i need, and i dont want to go to the hassle of dying any, as its not for battle purposes, i realise some synthetic materials are not so good when introduced to heat sources as natural clothes, but again that is not an issue, whats my best option ?? the two main points i need it to cover are, lack of colour fading and light enough to catch a light breeze so it 'flys' well

ty in advance for any ideas/ suggestions

[tonw]

What colours are you looking for Brian

Also do you want naturally dyed colour of synthetically dyed if you go for the naturally dyed you'll get colour fade no matter what colours you choose.

In choice of fabric you could opt for linen over silk

[Brian la Zouche]

colour is red ( gules ) i dont want to bother dying (even tho probby would get a more authentic colour),
i am aware that even sythenic material can fade in the sun
i want something that appears to be silk ( i would have silk but again i have been told it costs a bomb ) so linen isnt really what im after.

i had thought about satin, but the back side tends to be dull compared to the bright glossy side

[Nigel]

How big is the flag ?

And how much silk would you need ?

[cloudy-cola-corp]

light silk (habotia or how ever its spelt) is about £10 for a meter at 45 inches from beckford silks and they do a wide range of colours but its best to pick it up in person as the camera colours arn't always quite like the acctual colour also if you visit they have a box where they sell of short lenghts and ends of runs on the cheap same quality just the leftovers that most people don't want. they are near evesham

[Brian la Zouche]

brill ty ... and only a tenner a metre :)
sorted :) m many thanks :thumbup:

[nutmeg_bec]

surely not - my local store sells Habutea for about ONE pound a metre - was that a typo?

[nutmeg_bec]

Fabric Land (Kingston) BTW

[sally]

surely not - my local store sells Habutea for about ONE pound a metre - was that a typo?

is that the pure silk stuff or the 'Thai' silk? £8-£10 sounds about right for most pure silk Habotai. if you can get proven real silk yardage at £1 a m, buy the lot off them, you'll make your money back no problem!

eta, if its the same as this fabricland website, its polyester not silk http://www.fabricland.co.uk/habutae_fau ... yester.htm

[Brian la Zouche]

sorted thanks........... all i did buy some of the habotai silk, its brill ..........i also found a local warehouse that sells it too, not quite as wide and only in white, i had been led to believe it was very expensive, hence my looking for an alternative, but its really quite cheap :)

thanks all :thumbup: