Silk Painting

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Fixing the dye to the silk




Tutorial

1. Materials you will require 
2. Painting the Background 
3. Painting the Tree of Life 
4. Fixing the dye to the silk 
5. Finished Tree of Life 
Keep everything dry
Keep your surroundings as dry as possible. If the finished scarf dips in any water it will leave a mark. Even the most experienced silk painters have difficulty in patching up such mishaps. There are many products available today that do not require fixing. If you have these products, then skip this page.

Roll the scarf in Calico
Lay the Calico (or newspaper) on the floor then lay the scarf on top. Fold the calico about 2 inches over the scarf, then start rolling to the end. If you have a number of scraves, each one must be done separately in calico. If you have a wide piece of calico, then you may be able to place two scarves side by side.
Beginning to roll two scarves Rolling scarves half way through

Prepare the Container
Cover the bottom of the container cover this with one layer of calico. Remember you can use newspaper instead of calico.

Put the scarves in calico in the container
Lay the rolled calico and scarf on top of the bottom cover circling around the sides of the container. If you have more than one rolled scarf, just keep circling them around creating a spiral effect going inwards or just like a big snake.
On top of this, lay one more layer of calico, mirroring the layer on the bottom of the container.

Prepare the lid
Cover the lid of the container, with one layer of aluminium foil. This is to ensure that steam stays within the container. Once the steam escapes from the main area, it will run back down as water, through the layers and make a mark on the silk scarf. The aluminium is to stop this water running back into the container.
Join two parts of aluminium foil to cover the lid

Put it all together
Enclose the lid on the container. Put the Container on the Wok and note how far down the Wok the Container sits. Fill the Wok with boiling water from the kettle to the level that is just below where the Container will sit. You do not want any water on the bottom of the container.
You will need to steam the scarves for about two hours. Check the level of the water. You may need to add more water as it evaporates.
Container assembled

Finishing
After two hours and the steaming process has finished, let everything cool before taking off the cover. Take out the scarves, then rinse them thoroughly in cold water. At the beginning, quite a lot of excess colour may come out but this depends on the colour you used. If you have a number of scarves, it may be quicker to rinse them for a short time, then put them through a wash cycle in the washing machine to get the rest of the colour out.
Now, hang them out to dry!


 email: shazbeige@yahoo.com
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