What Is Silk Cady Fabric? (Characteristics + Helpful Guide)
One thing about modern fashion and fabric designers. They can get creative with the names of the fabrics they like. Often the term you hear is just one of many describing the same fabric and silk cady fabric is one of those items that fall under this description.
What is silk cady fabric? While it has various descriptions applied to it, the main one is that it is a 2 or 3 ply silk that is often used for couture and evening gowns. It has also been described as an 8 ply Italian silk that makes great skirts, suits, and jackets.
To learn more about this elusive and varied descriptive fabric just continue to read our article. It gets down to the nitty-gritty and provides you with the correct information so you know what it is and how to use it correctly
What is Silk Cady?
Silk cady seems to have become famous because of the marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. Her wedding dress was made of the fabric and now it seems to be a very popular item to use.
Unfortunately, it is hard to describe what is silk caddy as there are so many different definitions applied to the fabric. You have already read two of those descriptions and a third one is that it is a thick, woven material with a little something extra to provide the stretch a woman needs to move.
It could be double-bonded or double cloth where the weft and warp threads are combined between 2 layers of cloth to provide a more complex look and drape. You may find that the term Drap is used in place of cady and this material is made on silk warp yarns and has a double face in the weft.
This version is supposed to be a good all-round fabric that works for a variety of clothing items. That is because its crepe silk addition covers the shine of the warp. No matter what it is called it seems to be a very good looking durable fabric that stands up to a lot of wear and tear.
Cady Fabric Characteristics
One of the characteristics is the mystery surrounding this fabric. It is said to be made in Southern France and many retailers list the construction fabric as cady yet no one seems to be able to find any textiles sold in America under that name.
One assumption that has been made is that cady, although not listed on labels etc., is for luxury blouses and similar woman’s garments. Another characteristic is that its look and feel are like a woven double crepe. It is a heavy fabric yet both soft and stable.
Also, it usually is made with a matte finish with some spandex added in to let the clothing items stretch as you need it to. Other characteristics have it made from different fibers like cotton, wool, silk, rayon, polyester and so on.
There is a minimum sheen to the fabric and can be as thick as 2 to 4 ply silk crepe. The fabric is also smooth and holds its shape quite well. At the time of this writing, it has been seen for sale in Italy but not America.
Crepe Cady Fabric
This fabric also has various uses and designs as it can be found in material that is lightweight up to heavyweight. It can be thick or thin depending on its purpose. Traditionally this fabric was made from silk yet with technological advances it can be made from almost any fiber you want to see it in.
Crepe is a crinkled style fabric that can also be described as a crisp, crimped look. Most often you will see this fabric used when people are mourning the loss of a loved one or friend.
Plus, it is considered to be a luxury fabric that is designed to work with evening gowns, suits and other fashions the elite sector of society prefers to wear. The one thing about Crepe cady fabric is that you may be wearing it and you may not know it.
The term cady may be a new term used to describe a fabric that has been around for some time and goes by a different name. It seems to rarely appear on labels so while the dress may be made from a crepe cady fabric it won’t say that it is.
The reason fr that is that Crepe has about 8 different styles it comes in.
Cady Dress Meaning
It is hard to pin the meaning of cady dress down. There are just too many variations that the cady dress can be described as a luxurious evening gown, a mourning dress for funerals or a good fabric for A line skirts.
One of the variations for that last clothing item would be cotton cady. This style of cady is more structured as chiffon but retains its luminous and sheer look to it. One of the uses for this variation is casual to weddings, especially if the wedding is held outdoors.
The dictionary meaning is nowhere near the fabric actual use or construction as it refers to a Scottish person looking for temporary employment. The term is also said to come from the Greek and simply means pure.
So if you are wearing a cady dress you can be thought of as a pure person But that meaning comes from a baby’s name list and not the fashion designers who created this fabric or clothing style.
Cady Fabric by The Yard
This may be a difficult task to unravel as the search functions at Etsy turns the word cady into candy and offers you a very wide selection of different types of candies or items associated with candy. This is one of the difficulties surrounding this mysterious fabric.
A cotton cady search turns up results for cotton candy and doe snot produce much information on the fabric at all. We stopped by Mood Fabrics and that company did not list one item by the term cady.
This is understandable as the term is rarely used in marketing the fabric in the United States. From what we have been able to uncover it is not sold in America at all and if you are lucky enough to find a price by the yard it may be in Euros not dollars.
The silk on sale at Mood fabrics is listed between $14 and $60 depending on the style and variety you want. Etsy did sell a crepe style fabric and listed it at $24.99 but it may not exactly be a crepe cady fabric.
Even the normally reliable Amazon marketplace does not list cady fabric for sale by the yard or even by the clothing item. A search did produce a candy cane result.
Your best bet if you want to really use this fabric for your upcoming special events is to check the European market to see if they list the cady fabric in any variations. It is supposed to be marketed in Italy and possibly France and those are the only two countries we were able to find. Sadly, no price was included in those results.
The Different Styles of Crepe
Since cady fabric is not really sol din America and since crepe is also made from silk it is possible to get a crepe cady fabric under a different name. Here are the different styles of Crepe to help you in your search and provide you a starting place in where to look for cady fabrics.
- 1. Crepe de Chine - this is a silk fabric that doe snot have that puckered surface other crepe fabrics are known for. It is a lightweight fabric with a smooth, matte finish.
- 2. Crepe georgette - made from either silk or rayon, you get a nice smooth look with a soft feel to the fabric. It is good for dresses as it has some elasticity and a nice drape.
- 3. Wool crepe - this style resists wrinkling but has a very rough feel to it. The fabric is also made in light to medium weights.
- 4. Crepe-back satin - this fabric is smooth as sating on one side while having a crepe-like appearance on the other.
- 5. Canton crepe - originally made in Canton China from Canton silk but it is a heavier version due to the weaving style.
Other crepe styles are the polyester crepe, plisse crepe, and the crepe charmeuse. Each style has its own unique characteristics and quality with polyester being one of the cheaper versions.
Some Final Words
It is most likely that you will hear the word cady more often now since a prince married a commoner but the fabric itself is still much of a mystery. That is because the term can be applied to a variety of fabrics and made from a variety of fabrics.
