I have people who ask me how to get silks to fall open so the whole silk can be shown. This is especially important for message and card silks so that the whole silk is visible. This can also be important when tossing out a streamer.

Here is my recommended method. Fold the bottom edge or end and sew so that a small tube is made. This is where the weight will be placed.

For narrow streamers some magicians use dowels. That is not my method. It won’t bend! It can also make a noise!

Get a roll of solid core or rosin core solder. (Acid core solder will eat holes in your silk!) You may also want to get as a cover for the solder, shrink tubing. It can be used to cover the solder and prevent the lead from touching your silk.

Lace the solder through the tube made in the silk and sew closed the ends of the tube. An alternative is to cut the solder into several smaller pieces and space them in the tube AND sew the tube closed at each end of the lead pieces.

Whichever you do, remember that the solder is soft enough to bend after production and keep it convincing that the silks is just a silk.

You really should remove the lead if you wash the silk.

Now you have one of my best kept secrets!

Bob Sanders
DoveLite Silks

That and Duct Tape!

Thank you very much for sharing that info! I am going to give that a try - I have used the dowel rod method but wasn't happy with it. Thanks again!

Thank you Bob. That is a great tip! What thickness solder do you use?

John

I sew 1/8" nylon cording into the bottom hem.
MR

Bob,
That's professional sharing!
Thanks!
Santé

I love it..as usual I learn from the Café..Thanks for sharing

I have just use pull chain, like the one in your closet for a lightbulb. It comes in silver and gold color at your hardware store. Sew a tube like Bob Sanders stated in a previous post above and insert the chain. Anchor with a needle and thread at each end. Works for me....

I was going to suggest this as well. Chains are often used in the bottom hems of stage curtains, which were what suggested the idea to me.

Thanks Bob!

There is also a little cotton tube with little weights in it that is used in curtains to weight them down.

Bob, make sure you use lead free solder to keep the goverment happy.

Richard

Richard,

Actually we need to get the lead out of the government.