Abaca without silk?
Hi there,
I love working with silk abaca since following the course with Hat Academy, but I was wondering if there is a vegan alternative to this fabulous material?!?! The abaca is a plant, so that's great, but silk isn't vegan because of boiling the caterpillars alive... Is there any other type of material that would be similar?! I'm guessing not, but thought I would put it out there! I know about jinsin but I think that's a lot firmer? And I use sinamay a lot, but I love the gloss and fabric quality of the silk abaca. Is there such a thing as polyester abaca???
Rachel :-)
Tags: abaca, silk, supplies, vegan
Views: 860
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by House of Adorn
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Dear Rachel,
Great to hear you love working with silk abaca. It does have a lovely sheen and quality due to the silk properties.
For an alternative you can try what we call "Paris Cloth" - which is made from Abaca woven with either polyester or cotton threads. Here is the link: https://www.houseofadorn.com/millinery/sinamay-straws/woven-materia...
Another product you could consider is "Tinalak" - although it is thicker, shorter and moulds differently to Silk Abaca, it does have a lovely sheen and is made with 100% Abaca. Here is the link: https://www.houseofadorn.com/millinery/sinamay-straws/woven-materia... and https://www.houseofadorn.com/millinery/sinamay-straws/woven-materia...
Jinsin is made with buntal fibres (along with polyester or cotton threads) so it is a lot firmer and therefore moulds very differently to Abaca Silk. If you are interested in finding out more, here are some links: https://www.houseofadorn.com/millinery/sinamay-straws/woven-materia... and https://www.houseofadorn.com/millinery/sinamay-straws/woven-materia...
Hope that helps and we wish you all the best! Please feel free to contact us direct if you have any other queries and we would be more than happy to help.
Happy Hatting!
House of Adorn
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Permalink Reply by Rachel Warrillow
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Thank you so much for your help with this, that really was a great help. I have ordered a selection of Tinalak and Paris Cloth, so I can wait to have a go and do some experimenting!
Thanks again,
Rachel :-)
