Aisha Azar

Dear Reen,
I don't think even if I had some that I would be able to get them into my computer and then somehow up here. I even asked Anatoliy to do my avatar for me as I have no technological skills to speak of. I am about to go and record some music for a promo vid and I am going to be amazed if I get it right the first time, or even the tenth.... wish me luck.
Regards,
A'isha

Phoebedances

Those are so beautiful Priscilla... just like rainbows! I think playing with resists could be fun and you could come up with some really incredible designs. Sort of like those Russian easter eggs where they dye the egg in progressively darker colors everywhere the wax isn't.

And well, because I want to know too...



Joins the Clamor for Shan to tell us more about her silk Dyeing ways!

sedoniaraqs

RE fabrics: For veils I prefer 6mm or 8mm habotai (= "china" silk, but people also use "china silk' to refer to polyester fake silk) silk. Some people like 5mm. The silk gauze I have purchased from Dharma is very light, < 5mm, and is hard to work with. Making a circle skirt out of it would be a nightmare. Silk chiffon is also very nice, but has a matte texture in contrast with the more glisten-y shine of habotai. For skirts, 8mm or 10mm habotai is good.

RE dye: You are right, A'isha, I'm going to vomit! IMO silk deserves better than RIT. Jacquard acid dyes give much more vibrant colors, are not that much more expensive and every bit as easy to use. Jacquard acid dyes also give much more vibrant colors than Procions (plus they don't shift).

RE prewashing: I buy natural silk (its a pale ivory very close to white) don't worry about prewashing, have never had trouble with silk gum (at least in habotai) but I suppose it is a possibility. Raw silk and tussahs definitely need prewashing with something strong enough to remove silk gum.

RE bleaching: NEVER PUT CHLORINE BLEACH ON ANYTHING SILK. Bleach dissolves protein and silk fibers are protein. The silk will either disintegrate into dime-sized bits, or become so fragile it will tear with the slightest touch. You do not want to know how I learned this.

adiemus

I've never heard of Jacquard acid dyes - do you have a supplier on the internet?

__________________
He wahine, he taonga- Every woman is a treasure(Maori proverb)

sedoniaraqs

I just get them from Dharma Trading Co. Homepage . The only thing they require is a tiny bit of plain vinegar (that is the "acid"). Actually, depending on how you use them, you may not even need vinegar.

You can use them in a washing machine on hottest setting (doesn't give the absolute deepest/brightest colors but pretty good.

You can dye in a pot simmered on the stove (best for solid dying).

Or you can sprinkle, drizzle, dip etc. and then microwave for a couple of minutes.

Or you can use a steamer, but I don't have one.

I started out using Procion dyes but Procion dyes are very sensitive to tap water chemistry, pH, salt concentrations, etc. Blue reacts very slowly with silk, so everything shifts away from blue. I also found them impossible to create predictable, reproduceable results.

Marya

Reen,

I am sorry, I can't really remember what weight I used. I am guessing either 5 mm for veils and 8mm for skirts but I purchased in large quantities and it has been a long time since I had to buy any so I just can't remember.

some of the veils I purchased at workshops so I was able to feel it, but the weight wasn't given.

Marya

Phoebedances

Such a wealth of information for working with silk. I'm curious though, if you do something with different colors of dye, after you 'set' the dye in the fabric, do you have to worry after that about the dye bleeding if you have to wash the silk later? For instance, if you used yellow and red in a skirt and had to wash the skirt later, would the red bleed into the yellow and make it all orange?

Shanazel

If the dye is properly set the colors shouldn't run.

Some cautions about using dyes. When mixing powdered dyes, it is a good idea to work outside and/or wear a face mask. You do not want to inhale this powder. It is not good for your lungs. You don't want to work in an area that is not well ventilated. I also should wear surgical gloves just to keep the dye off my hands and out from underneath my fingernails, but I tend to forget them at some point. I don't have a good area to work with dye in my studio and it is usually too windy or too cold to work outside in Wyoming, so my silk dyeing experiments tend to come in great clumps. I have been asked to consign my veils to a local store, but I don't work in the quantities the seller needs. Most of what I paint I give to friends as gifts.

The silk paint I am currently using is a brand called Dekka Silk Paints. I've used paints I like as well or better, this just happens to be what I bought the last time. I am far from being an expert and am still experimenting with materials. I send my painted silks to a friend to be steamed. She does silk painting professionally so has the equipment and charges only a very small fee for doing the steaming for me. The steaming process is where you are most likely to have colors run- if the silk rolls are not properly wrapped when they go into the steamer, water creeps into the rolls and spoils the dye job. Silk painting is a crap shoot- sometimes the results are beautiful and sometimes they are better off being chopped up and used in fabric collages or the bottom of birdcages.

To put pictures of patterns on silk, I draw the design on paper, then transfer it to clear heavy plastic make a cartoon to place under the silk. I stretch the silk on a frame and trace the drawing with a dye resistant medium called gutta. I have also used templates made of this fabric- just trace the edges with the gutta. Once the gutta is dry, I mix my dyes (oh, how I love to mix dye and watch the colors bloom!) and use a variety of brushes to paint the silk. This involves touching the loaded brush lightly to the fabric and letting the dye flow onto the surface. If there is a gap in the gutta outline, the dye will flow right through it.

To get ombre or spectrum effects, I use a foam brush an inch or two wide. The silk is dampened with water to allow the dye to flow more quickly, then I just start painting color on color, letting one hue of dye flow into another to form secondary colors. Gotta be careful here and have some grasp of color theory or you might end up with a very muddy veil. Starting out with colors that are next to each other on the color wheel is generally a pretty safe way to go.

Salt dye is a matter of sprinkling salt on a piece of dyed silk while it is still wet. The salt crystals actually push away the dye, leaving patterns on the fabric. Table salt gives a much different effect than large salt like you spread on sidewalks in the winter.

The only problem I have found with silk painting is time and space! If I ever get around to retiring from my day job, it will take me two years to catch up on all the art projects I have planned. I took a silk painting class last year that also included painting dye onto velvet. If I had occasion to wear velvet clothing, every inch of it would be painted- the colors are beautifully saturated on velvet in a way that silk cannot come close to. I think I posted the picture I did of a boa constrictor but I don't recall what thread I did it on. The problem with painting on velvet, at least in the USA, is the connotation it carries of oil paintings of Elvis on black velvet. Dye painting is nothing like Elvis oils, but...

sedoniaraqs

Quality dyes (for example Acid dyes or Procion dyes) will not bleed. They may discharge a little and for that reason should be washed alone, but discharge is different from the dying process. With some dyes, for example Procions, the dye reacts with the fabric fibers on a molecular level. When that reaction is over, the dye is permanent and leftover dye molecules might stain something but won't dye it.

There are also special detergents that can be purchased from Dharma that prevent discharged dye particles from redepositing and staining.

Phoebedances

Shan, the painting on velvet sounds so gorgeous. I'd love to have a painted velvet jacket to wear - it would really be a special piece. I think it would be wonderful to do that as a career, but then we have concerns like insurance that a mundane job takes care of.

Thanks to you and Sedonia, it sounds much more manageable to dye silk and not worry about it so much. I've been checking into silk prices and they aren't so bad, not bad at all. I think it may become a very addicting thing, indeed.

So, you mentioned salt, Shan.. what have you done with that?