Where can I get secondhand silk fabric?

[Minitoots]

Any suggestions where I could look to find second hand silk? (or 'peace silk')

Lighter weight and shiny rather than heavier, so more like habotai than tussah. I also love raw silk too (especially dual toned). And red, blue, white/off white, black are the main colours I?d like to get. I?d only need a meter or so of each colour.

[Lynne]

I don't know about second hand, but if I were looking for silk I'd go to Tooting. Lots of fabric shops

[Minitoots]

Thanks Lynne but I think theirs would all be new and I'm enquiring on behalf of a fashion designer who is vegan so will only use 2nd hand silk...

[womanofdulwich]

Charity shops?

[Lynne]

It's possible there might be second hand saris in Tooting?

[civilservant]

i've never heard of a market in second-hand silk sarees but you might want to look into 'ahimsa silk' which is produced from the discarded cocoons of silkworms. however the fabric quality is usually poorer than silk made using production methods which involve boiling the cocoons (with the silkworm larvae inside!). and tussore/tussah silk is also usually made from discarded cocoons.

[Minitoots]

thanks for the info on ahimsa silk, civiilservant- that sounds like the sort of thing she'd be interested in.

[SarahJaneS]

offsetwarehouse.com is supplies all ethically produced material, including silk and bamboo. Viscose ( also known as rayon ) is a good alternative for that silky feel and it is 100% natural and produced from pulp ( discarded wood pulp ).