Three folds for a silk square

Silk fails when it is asked to do too much. A square that has been twisted twice and knotted three times will loosen within an hour, because twill has no memory. The folds below all rely on the weight of the fabric rather than on tension.

One — the bias band

Lay the square flat, fold corner to corner into a triangle, then roll the long edge toward the point in four turns until you have a band roughly six centimetres wide. Wrap once at the throat and knot to the side, leaving one tail longer than the other. The asymmetry is what keeps it from reading as a uniform.

Two — the handle tie

Fold to a band of about three centimetres. Loop it once around the base of a bag handle, then tie a simple square knot and let the ends fall unequal. On a structured tote it softens the line; on a crescent bag it does the opposite.

Three — the flat band

Fold in half, then in half again, pressing each fold with your palm rather than your fingertips. Worn under a collar with the knot at the back of the neck, this reads as tailoring rather than decoration.

Keeping it

• Store loosely rolled, never folded in a drawer.
• Apply fragrance before dressing — alcohol dulls silk lustre.
• Dry clean only; water spots twill permanently.