Hello there budding silk artist! If you've decided to take up painting on silk, congratulations! I've been painting on silk with steam-set dyes for 30 years, and I love sharing my knowledge with other silk artists, newbies and those wishing to dabble in this amazing art form.
Over many years I've learned lots of tips through trial and error, and I do hope you find the following tips helpful.
Here are my first 20 Tips for How To Paint On Silk: 1.
Wash you silk before painting.
2.
Don't allow silk to dry totally before ironing as it will end up with fine wrinkles.
Always iron when the silk is ever so slightly still damp.
3.
Beginners of silk painting should start with a fine, tightly woven silk for the best results, for example Habotai which is also known as China Silk and Jap Silk, and in French - Pongée (pronounced Pon-zhay).
4.
Tightly woven silk keeps heat in - perfect for winter (e.
g.
Habotai).
5.
Loosely woven silk allows the air to flow through - perfect for summer (e.
g.
silk chiffon).
6.
Thicker, heavier silks are very "thirsty" and require a lot of dye to cover a small area, but give beautiful results.
7.
Attractive designs can be created with as little as two dye colours (even without any outlines).
8.
After assembling wooden frames, cover four inside edges with masking tape to prevent dye stains.
9.
Dyes and outliners are affected by changes in temperature.
10.
All dyes should be kept in a cool, dark place.
11.
Silk should never be hung outside or left in bright light.
12.
Silk can also be washed in a washing machine on the gentle or lingerie cycle).
13.
Don't put on a silk scarf before you spray perfume or hairspray (it might stain).
14.
I always paint on white silk to ensure I have control over the depth of colour of the dyes on the "white" background, giving "true" colours.
15.
Dyes can be applied by brush, dripping, drizzling, squishing, soaking etc.
16.
All "steam set" dyes MUST be steamed in high pressure steamers so the dye colours will set permanently.
17.
Silk must never be left to SOAK - EVER.
18.
Silk can be stretched onto wooden frames (ready for painting) using a variety of different techniques.
19.
Silk will last for years if gently cared for and never left in bright sunlight.
20.
Silk is extremely strong - it used to be used to make parachutes! And here's a quick Bonus Tip as well! 21.
The production of raw silk has been happening for at least 5,000 years in China.
The silkworm eats MULBERRY leaves, starts creating a thread, then spins the thread into a cocoon to wrap itself in.
When the silk is unwound it can be anywhere from 300 to 900 METRES in length.
To find out more about silk painting, feel free to visit my website and ask questions - to find out more about the history of silk, pop over to Wikipedia dot org and search for "Bombyx mori".
If you enjoyed these tips and have questions, I'd love to hear from you.