CUPRO silk is more than a lining fabric

If 'sustainability' is important for you, then you probably know that 'CUPRO' silk or simply CUPRO, is a good choice in terms of fabrics. Cupro is also often seen as a cheap alternative to silk. This is only partly true. Indeed, the fabric is cheaper than silk, but it is much more than just an alternative or a cheap lining fabric.

Lining fabric - Cupro
In many stores, cupro silk is stored with the lining fabrics and at online fabric stores this fabric is also often categorized under 'lining fabrics'. Cupro is a silk-like fabric with a lovely, soft, delicate and luxurious 'touch'. It is made from a cellulose fiber produced by treating cotton cellulose with cuprammonium salt. This is where it gets its name: Cuprammonium rayon is the reference to the production process;  the cellulose has undergone to become 'cupro'. Cellulose is therefore used as a raw material for cupro, usually the cotton fibers that are too short to be spun. Due to the fineness of the fibers, Cupro has a silky grip and a lovely shine.

It is very easy to drape and it drapes smoothly. It is also anti-allergenic and anti-static. Cupro is often referred to as a 'silk-like' fabric, but it has a completely different basis.

Silk versus CUPRO
Real silk is very popular, but expensive and not durable. In addition, 'vegan' people do not buy silks because it not animal-friendly. Silkworms are bred and kept in captivity. After the caterpillars have spun a cocoon, they are boiled to release the silk threads. Not a very pleasant idea and animal friendly, no matter how small a caterpillar is ...

Animal-friendly silk
There is also silk that is produced in a different way, where the caterpillars are given time to finish their cocoons and have left as a butterfly. This is called: Áhimsa silk. Ahisma silk is more difficult to weave and dye. There are other types of silk that differ in the production process and final properties.

CUPRO is suitable for:
Cupro is extremely suitable as a lining material. But cupro can also be used to create blouses, tops, dresses, gala clothes and even jumpsuits. Cupro gives a luxurious look because it always shiny and looks a bit more luxurious than satin. Cupro shines less 'hard' than satin and therefore has that chic look. It is more subtle and looks more 'couture' than satin.

The fabric is nice and comfortable to wear. Unfortunately, the fabric is sensitive to creases and stains.

CUPRO mix
Sometimes cupro is also mixed with other fabrics such as viscose. Like the mix: 55% Cupro 45% Viscose. Just like cupro, this fabric is suitable for making blouses, dresses, gala clothes, etc. The shine is slightly less excessive and the fabric looks more like chiffon than silk.

Washing and maintenance
Like silk clothing, it is advisable to wash Cupro as little as possible. It is better to air-dry it outside and only wash it when it is really necessary. If you are going to do it yourself: wash it with handwarm or cold water  and do not use the dryer. Just hang up after washing and let it air dry. Even better: bring it to the dry cleaner ... Please note when ironing: do not iron higher than the medium temperature. Rather iron a little longer than too hot!

Where is CUPRO for sale?
As we said, you can sometimes find CUPRO silk between the fabric rolls in the lining fabric department. It should have a label on it. Online it is more difficult to buy, but luckily Böttger Fabric Shop sells Cupro silk in many colors. The price is not expensive and the colors are really beautiful. The photos are our favorite colors. But to be honest it is difficult to make a choice because all colors are simply very beautiful.

Chanel-Style jacket with CUPRO lining
We have already worked with CUPRO a few times and made our Chanel-style jackets with a CUPRO lining. We really liked the fanric. It folds nicely, sews well and does not slip out from under the scissors or presser foot during cutting and sewing. The fabric is also nice to combine with Bouclé because Cupro silk falls smoothly but not overly, so as is sometimes the case with a silk-look fabric or real silk. If the Bouclé is woven very loosely, as the outer fabric for the Chanel-Style jacket, we do recommend that the cupro side be reinforced with an iron-on nonwoven interfacing on pattern parts where this is necessary.

Summarized:
Cupro is very similar to real silk, but is a great budget alternative. It is also more sustainable.

Cupro cuts and sews very nicely and wears very pleasantly.

Can we come up with a negative comment? No actually not...