Wednesday was the last session of the Silk Scarf Painting Class with Evi Slaby. I wanted to show you four of the silk painted scarves that I completed.
I learned so much from this class, but the biggest lesson was not to be so afraid of silk. For me, silk has always meant expensive and delicate. Oh, how wrong I was. I so look forward to painting more silk.
On this first scarf I used wax crayons as a resist. I was able to draw those patterns and keep the color contained within them. Lots of control!
I used my favorite wood block printing stamp on this scarf. First I painted the scarf and dried it with a heat gun. Then I added dye to resist on my gelli plate (using it as a stamp pad) and then put my stamp in it and stamped on the silk.
I tried to make a flower design on this scarf by using cups under the fabric.
And the last is just a lot of color. It was too bright when I got finished painting it, so I rinsed it out. I love the muted colors.
I am real excited about my last scarf which Evi will wash and steam this week. I used a resist on it also, and I was really happy with the results even if it took me the whole class to paint it! I’ll post it soon. Again, thanks Evi for such a fun class!
We used Jacquard Green Label dyes for this class. I have some Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow I plan to play with since I’d like to see the difference in the quality and feel on silk from the Green Label we used in class.
If you’ve played with these dyes and silk, I’d love to hear from you. Also, are you afraid of working with silk?
My favorite is the second picture. I love the wood block stamp design and the colors. You’ll have to start wearing two scarves a day, you have so many! Nice problem to have!!
beautiful, Lynda!
Carla, I’m pretty partial to the wood block stamp design too. Yeah, I’ll have to start wearing them.
Kathy, Thanks!
I love silk! I haven’t done a lot with it but I love the way it dyes. Love your idea of using the gelli plate as a stamp pad!
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I’ve done some silk dyeing over the years… starting with just procion mx dyes on silk pre-soaked in vinegar, and steam-setting in the microwave. I haven’t used many silk dyes. One of my fave ways of applying dyes to silk is to pre-soak it, scrunch up on plexiglass, then drizzle dyes over it with an eye-dropper. The dyes migrate beautifully and make wonderful patterns. Then when it has batched awhile, I carefully put it in a zip lock bag and nuke, 30 seconds at a time, for about 2 1/2 minutes. Fun and fast!
Lisa, It was so much fun to dye although I liked using the resist since I had more control of the outcome. Yep, that gelli plate really works great!
Judy, Ooh, that sounds great. Do you use a dedicated microwave for this, not the one in the kitchen? I doubt I’ll do the green dyes since you have to steam but would like to try the fiber reactive dyes. I like your idea of fast! Oh, love, love, love all of the lovely stuff you have in your shop. I sent a friend over there yesterday. She was way impressed.
Gorgeous. My fave it the stamped one, too, but the next-to-last with the bright, bright colors is calling my name because it wants to come home! I used the Dye-Na-Flow dyes on silk and actually like them better than my experience with Procion dyes when painted. The color is so much brighter and more intense with the Dye-Na-Flow on silk. That could be because of the type of silk I used, Habotai (sp), but I attributed it to the fact that the painted-on dye is weaker than the dye from immersion dyeing because there are more dye molecules to grab.
At St. James Art Fair in L’ville last weekend, marbled silk charmeuse scarves and ties were breathtaking. I can’t wait to try the charmeuse.
You are amazing! There is always a new interesting project to see and read about on your blog…it’s great!
Lynda, I use the kitchen microwave… have never had a problem, as long as I nuke 30 seconds at a time and let the steam subside before doing the next session. Let me know if you try it, and what you think.
Joan, Thank you so much for your kind words! I appreciate hearing from my readers. I hope I encourage them to try things that might be out of their comfort zone. Thanks again for dropping by and commenting.
Judy, Thanks. There was a used microwave at the thrift store I volunteer at yesterday. Thought about picking it up but not sure I’d use it. Not sure I’ll do that. So many other stuff on my list and several are your fault!!
Judy, That last scarf you liked of mine is a heavier one. Evi told me what it was but I don’t remember if it was charmeuse or not. It really has a sheen that is so beautiful. I’ll find out from her next week what it was as I definitely want to order more of those. Marbling would be wonderful! I’ve been itching to get my marbling stuff out again.
Judy, I’m surprised that the dye-na-flow are brighter than Procion. Evi says one of the difference between the Green Label we used and dye-na-flow is that there is a faster working time. Dye-na-flow dries faster so you can’t work with it as long. Reminds me of acrylic vs open acrylics. Also, she said the feel is stiffer than the Green Label which she steams.