Sewing very fine silk

Question

I have difficulty getting the tension loose enough for the silk. I have patch pieces and find that the bottom thread seems to be tighter than the top. Should I be trying to sew the straight seems with paper to help with tension...trying to avoid that effort. I have loosened the bobbin thread and seem to have trouble loosening the top thread to feel the same as the bobbin. I would be grateful for any hints as to how to sew very fine silk. I am only doing straight sides so I am not working on the bias.