While silk is the traditional material of charmeuse and remains the most coveted choice today, it can be quite expensive and even harder to sew. Polyester, which can closely imitate silk charmeuse, is a cost-effective alternative.
Chiffon (French: ; English: / ʃ ɪ ˈ f ɒ n /, shif-ON (French chiffe cloth, or rag; Arabic شف šīff transparent, diaphanous, translucent fabric, or gauze; (عن 'an s.th.) to shimmer through, reveal) is a lightweight, balanced plain-woven sheer fabric, or gauze, woven of alternate S- and Z-twist crepe (high-twist) yarns.
Silk Habotai Fabrics Also known as "china silk" this is the classic silk fabric you see used in all kinds of projects. This silk fabric has a soft and supple hand and a lustrous sheen.
Crepe de Chine, also spelled Crêpe De Chine, (French: “crepe of China”), light and fine plainwoven dress fabric produced either with all-silk warp and weft or else with a silk warp and hard-spun worsted weft.
Dupioni (also referred to as Douppioni or Dupion) is a plain weave crisp type of silk fabric, produced by using fine thread in the warp and uneven thread reeled from two or more entangled cocoons in the weft. This creates tightly-woven yardage with a highly-lustrous surface.