1 Choose the silk quality you want to paint on, and which is more suitable for your needs
2 Pin your silk onto the wooden frame taking care to give the silk a good stretch, since wet silk normally ‘sags’ greatly, causing dyes to run and possibly spoil your design
3 Apply the pattern you wish with the gutta in the nozzle bottle. This can be done either free-hand or by tracing through a pattern you would like to copy
4 Allow the gutta to dry overnight
5 Apply the French dyes with brushes as with watercolours. They can be used either neat straight from the bottle in their full vibrancy, or diluted according to preference with either water or special thinner.
6 For details on any special effect you can apply at this stage, please refer to my blog.
7 Allow the silk painting to dry completely when finished
8 Detach the painting from the frame and lay the silk(s) out on blank newspaper on the floor. One end of the paper is attached to a metal pole
9 Roll the work up carefully into a sausage roll and secure with masking tape.
10 Suspend the package in a steaming device for up to 3 hours depending on the thickness of the roll
11 Carefully remove the roll from the steamer (with ovengloves). Open the package up and unroll, exposing the silks to the air. Allow to cool.
12 Ensure no household pets are around at this stage….
13 The dyes are now permanently fixed in the silk and the individual pieces of silk can now be rinsed in lukewarm water until no more excess dye washes out.
14 Dab dry in a towel, hang up to dry and iron carefully from the reverse according to instructions. Using a tea-towel helps to eliminate any problems here.
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