In Asia and the Middle East, the term floss silk usually refers to unspun silk filaments used as a thread.
In the West, the term of floss silk is often used to describe a thread made from lightly spun silk filaments (often also classed as flat silk). In medieval and later English it was called sleave silk or sleyed silk.
Floss silk is generally regarded to be very suitable for a number of specific embroidery techniques, including the plait stitch, satin stitch, split stitch and stem stitch, but also laidwork and couching.
See also: floss
Sources:
- TORTORA, Phyllis G. and Ingrid JOHNSON (2014). The Fairchild Books: Dictionary of Textiles, 8th Edition, New York: Fairchild Books/Bloomsbury Publishing Inc., p. 241.
- Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: 'Floss-silk'.
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