Can I mix and match successfully?

Help! I’m on a time crunch to make some last minute gifts, and I need some quick advice.

I ordered just enough of Knit Pick’s “Shimmer” yarn (70% alpaca, 30% silk) for my project. After I got started I thought, “Wouldn’t this look really pretty with a crocheted edging maybe and some freshwater pearls crocheted into the edging?” (For all practical purposes, what I’m making is similar to something like…let’s say, a doily–decorative, that will not be used or worn out).

Well, I can’t order any more of the Shimmer yarn because it will never get here in time–even if I expressed shipped it, I won’t be able to finish the projects in time. So I wondered…since these are going to be gifts that are purely decorational and non-functional, is it possible to maybe crochet a cotton thread to the edge (maybe a pearl cotton?), stringing the pearls onto that? I’m a little concerned because the cotton doesn’t have any “give” while the silk/alpaca Shimmer does, but once I block everything, will it matter? Again, these are purely for decorational purposes and I won’t have to worry about if it will “wear” evenly because they’re going to be decorative. What do you think?

I think it would be pretty but I’ve never worked with silk, call your lys.

My concern with mixing fibers is what will happen to them when they get wet for blocking. I tend to be cautious to a fault on this, so I haven’t experimented. I think that before I committed to edging the whole thing, I’d make a small square, edge it, and wet it. See what happens to the different fibers.