How Sylko and Trylko Were Made

 The pages below were taken from Creative Needlework Magazine, March 1976. I accessed these via the British Newspaper Archive.





I think that one of the main points of interest is the description of Mercerisation, which is the most detailed that I have come across to date. I didn't know that it had been named after an actual person. An exploration into this Mr Mercer needs to be launched in the future.

But what a window into the times this phrase is: "Where labour is cheap, the cotton is picked selectively by hand." Imagine any firm today admitting to this  - we all know it still happens in the sweatshops making cheap clothes - but the High Street shops would never come out and say it. A reminder that though we all love our Sylkos, people were exploited in their making both at home and abroad.

The ICI link and all that plastic does put one off the Trylkos too. 



https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SewSylko

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