Silk Painted Scarf

  ✂︎

Favorite

Comment

List

       

Share

• 

  Step 1

  Sara and I decided to make it together. We wanted to use Sara's drawings and letters because she is such a good artist and I would help with the tracing, the resist lines and painting the silk which can be a little tricky for an 8 year old.

• 

  Step 2

  I measured and cut out a big piece of paper which was the same size as the silk scarf. We used a beautiful blank silk Crepe de Chine scarf which already comes with a hand-rolled hem. Then Sara drew her design in pencil first and then went over it in a thick black marker. This way it would be easy for me to trace onto the silk scarf because I'd be able see it through the silk.

• 

  Step 3

  I stretched the silk onto a wooden frame to stabilize it for painting. I pinned the paper drawing onto the silk scarf on the wrong side and traced it with a black water based resist. I use a water based resist because the solvent based resists are very hard to work with. They are very messy, have toxic fumes and make cleaning up very difficult. I find if I add black dye to the water based resist it strengthens it and also I find it's easier to design an image with black lines than white lines.

• 

  Step 4

  We both worked on painting it. I did the background which is much harder because silk dye dries very quickly and if you don't work fast you'll get streaks. Sometimes streaks in silk painting add texture and interest however in this particular case we wanted a solid background. Sara concentrated on painting the smaller parts.

• 

  Step 5

  When the silk painting was finished we steamed it and washed and ironed it. And, voila a beautiful silk scarf for our friend as a personalized gift! Needless to say she was thrilled!!

• 

  Step 6

  Conclusion: Painting silk is very easy and fun to do! I would recommend starting with blank silk scarves and using professional dyes. If you don' t want to build a steamer you can use Jacquards "Dye Set" chemical.

  Good luck and happy silk painting!

Comments

Leave your comment

Katherine Munro · Halifax, Nova Scotia, CA · 12 projects 3rd March 2009

Hi There,
There's one photograph of the finished piece missing here. You can see it on my webpage: http://dakini.ca/silk-painting-craft-gift-idea.html.
It's at the very bottom of the page. This will give you a better idea of what the finished scarf looks like!
Thanks!
Katherine

Reply

ale_corason · Mexico City, Federal District, MX · 49 projects 3rd March 2009

I love the saying, the design, the colors, how you made all the process jointly, amazing work. Cheers for Sara! ÜÜ

Reply