Silk Painting How to

How to Paint on Unstretched Silk

There is no need to stretch silk when working on shibori or vat dyeing, but in addition to those techniques, painting on unstretched silk can also produce wonderful, unexpected effects.

Shibori is the Japanese word for a variety of ways of embellishing textiles by shaping cloth and securing it before dyeing.

Rather than treating cloth as a two-dimensional surface, with shibori it is given a three-dimensional form by folding, crumpling, stitching, plaiting, or plucking and twisting. Cloth shaped by these methods is secured in a number of ways, such as binding and knotting. It is the pliancy of a textile and its potential for creating a multitude of shape-resisted designs that the Japanese concept of shibori recognizes and explores.

The shibori family of techniques includes numerous resist processes practiced throughout the world.  Tie-dyeing has evolved in many cultures around the world, and can be seen on fabrics made thousands of years ago in Latin America, Africa, India, China and around Asia.

More information clicking in the Shibori section, under "Techniques."
 
Microwaving Dyeing (eliminates the need to steam in a steamer)
  • Combine equal amounts of water and white vinegar to make the necessary amount of liquid to saturate your silk. 1 cup water plus 1 cup white vinegar can be used for approximately 5 scarves.
  • Soak your silk in the mixture thoroughly and squeeze out excess back into the bowl.
  • Arrange silk in a glass baking dish or other microwaveable container.
  • Apply 3-4 colors of dyes randomly to the silk using a brush, an eyedropper, a syringe, or another tool – turn the silk over and apply dyes on the back. You can cover the silk with dyes or allow white spaces to remain.
  • Put a paper towel over the top of the dish and microwave on high for 4 minutes.
  • Let silk cool before handling; rinse in cool water until it runs almost clear.
  • Remove excess moisture by rolling in a towel.
  • Iron dry while damp with medium heat and no steam.

Microwave Dyeing  in a Plastic Bag Using Acid Dyes

  • Choose a scarf or other light-weight silk garment you wish to dye.
  • Twist, bunch, knot, fold, tie, clamp, or stitch your silk to create a pattern.
  • Crumple or roll your silk into a bundle.
  • Dunk your silk in hot water to saturate, then squeeze out excess water.
  • Put silk bundle into a plastic bag or microwavable dish.
  • Sprinkle about ½ tsp. of acid dye over the silk, followed by 1 tbls. citric acid.
  • Add ½ cup or more of water, depending on how much silk you are dying; use enough to saturate your silk.
  • “Squash” your silk in the container several times in order to get the dye and citric acid to dissolve and penetrate the silk; more squashing means a more even dying, however, the silk may have a less interesting pattern when finished.
  • Close bag, leaving a 2” opening, or cover dish with microwavable plastic wrap, leaving a vent for escaping steam.
  • Microwave for two minutes; watch for the bag to swell; wait one minute while the bag goes down and microwave again for another two minutes.
  • Let silk sit and cool; then rinse in cold water until the water runs clear.
  • Wash silk in lukewarm water and rinse in cold water.
  • Once dry, you can iron silk smooth or leave silk wrinkled, depending on your preference.

Dying Silk in Plastic Wrap/Bags

  • This method is simple and does not require steaming or ironing to set the dyes.
  • Prepare fiber reactive or Procion dyes you will use and pour into squeeze bottles with small tips.
  • Gather, bunch, knot, fold, tie, clamp, or put stitches on your silk to create desired patterns, then tie or fasten silk into one or more bundles.
  • Mix 1 gallon of warm water and 1 cup of soda ash (fixer) until dissolved completely.
  • Drop the bundles of silk into soda ash solution and soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Wearing gloves, remove the silk bundles and squeeze out excess moisture: do not rinse.
  • Lay wet bundles on plastic sheeting and, one by one, apply the dyes you have selected; experiment with how much dye to apply, and where (i.e., cover outside of silk bundle with one or more dyes, create stripes or shapes on the bundle, dip each end of a bundle into different dyes, etc.).
  • Roll each bundle, burrito style, in plastic wrap, a plastic produce bag, or a bread bag and seal the plastic cover with knots or ties.
  • Leave wrapped bundles sitting overnight.
  • Next day when the bundle has cooled, run it under cool water to rinse out excess dye and remove any clamps, clips, rubber bands, string, etc. to see what design you have made!
  • Rinse one last time until the water runs clear, using a little soap if you choose.

Dyeing Silk with Rust

  • This unique way of putting designs and patterns on silk involves no dyes; instead, rusted metal objects of any kind and size are used to imprint rusty colors and shapes on silk.
  • Gather rusty objects that you wish to use –rusted metal scraps, old collapsed cans, nails of any type, horseshoes, old tools, wires, crumpled steel wool, or anything else you can find that is rusted, or that you can rust yourself! Use your imagination as you choose your objects; think of what the shape of each might look like imprinted on a piece of silk.
  • Choose the silk you wish to print with rust; plain white, off-white, or lightly colored silks of any kind can be printed with rust.
  • Spread dry or damp silk on plastic sheeting. You can experiment with spreading your silk smoothly, wrinkled, in curves, or scrunched; the way the silk is positioned while rusting will help determine the final pattern you will have on your silk.
  • Place rusty objects in any configuration on the silk; spray objects and silk with a 1:1 solution of water and white vinegar until fabric is saturated.
  • Cover the entire piece of wet silk with plastic sheeting and allow the rusting process to continue for 12-24 hours; if you live in a dry climate, you may need to spray more water and vinegar on the silk to keep it wet as it rusts.
  • When you have finished rusting your silk, mix a solution of salt water (1-2 teaspoons of salt to every 8 ounces of water) large enough to submerge your silk in for 10-15 minutes.
  • Finally, wash silk in warm water with mild detergent, and rinse.

 

 

Arashi Shibori resist wrapped.

Arashi Shibori resist wrapped, by Doshi.

Scarf done with rusty objects

Scarf done with rusty objects, by Renée Filice.