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Preparing silk

Before you begin painting, prepare your silk. This can be lightweight – ideal for scarves, wall plaques, cards, etc, or medium weight – suitable for clothing e.g. beach wraps. If you prefer, you can choose from pre-cut pieces in packs or our range of ready made silk items.

The silk needs to be raised above your work surface, ideally on a wooden frame. The best frames are those that are interchangeable for different sizes. If you are just starting on a small scale, an embroidery hoop will suffice. The silk needs to be as taut and as smooth as possible. Use silk assa pins or steel tempered drawing pins to attach it to your frame; these should be placed opposite each other to ensure even tension.

Gutta outliner

If you want an outlined design you will need to create barriers to keep the paint in certain areas. Gutta forms a barrier that the paint will not spread over. It is available in clear or colours including gold and silver. The clear will wash away but all the others are permanent. Silk outliner can be applied straight from a tube. This allows for fine line work.

Allow about 30 minutes for the gutta to dry or use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

Transferring designs

Pieces that are already prepared with a gutta’d design can be a good way of starting silk painting, but if you are ready to go ahead with your own design place it underneath your silk. Silk is usually transparent enough for the design to show through and you can trace with an ordinary pencil or embroiderer’s transfer pen.

Silk paints

Silk paints come in a range of colours which are intermixable. The range does not include white, but the colours can be diluted with a medium to give paler hues. Always follow manufacturer’s instructions for fixing. When silk paint comes into contact with the silk it spreads. This is the essence of silk painting. If you place the brush on the silk you will see how the paint flows through the fabric. This can create some interesting effects by itself, just letting the colours merge together.

A gutta’d design

Before starting to paint however, it is essential to test that there are no gaps in your gutta outline; a single gap could ruin your carefully painted design. Use a cotton bud or a clean paintbrush and water to wet each area in turn. If there are any gaps in the gutta you will see the water ‘escaping’ into adjacent outlined areas. This is where silk paint will flow through. Wait a few minutes until the silk is dry and repair with gutta. When the gutta is dry, re-test.

Once you are certain there are no gaps, in your outline, fill the pattern with colour starting at the centre of a section and allow the colour to bleed to the gutta lines. You can also use silk painter fabric pens – these come in assorted colours.

When the colours are dry, place a cotton cloth over the reverse of your silk and use a hot iron (cotton setting) for 4-5 minutes to fix the colours. Wait 48 hours before washing or dry cleaning.

Salt technique

While the paint is wet you can add salt. Sprinkle dry, coarse salt over your work, leave to dry and watch the transformation. The salt draws the paint up and out of the fabric and creates a mottled effect leaving swirls of colour and pattern. Remove the salt carefully once the paint is completely dry.

Thickener

Thickener is a clear additive for silk paint. It prevents the paint from penetrating the fabric, instead it stays on the surface and does not spread. This also takes away the softness of the silk.

Antifusant – water-base for silk paint

Paint the antifusant over your silk before you start painting. This forms a barrier and changes the nature of the silk so that paint does not spread when applied. The silk will not feel as soft after this technique has been used.

The information contained within this craft technique sheet is presented in good faith, but no warranty is given, nor results guaranteed. Product quantities and selections may vary at each HobbyCraft Superstore. Products are subject to availability and not all ranges are available in all stores. Before making a special journey please contact the store direct to check that they have your required product in stock. HobbyCraft Group Ltd disclaims all liability from any injury to anyone using this craft technique as a result of improper safety precautions. Since we have no control over physical conditions surrounding the application of the information herein contained, HobbyCraft Group Ltd disclaims any liability for untoward results.