How to Stretch Silk to Paint

Use wrinkle-free silk for painting.

Stretching is essential if you intend to paint on the surface of silk. Silk is very flimsy in its natural design and requires a stretching frame to hold the material in place. Painting on silk that is not fully taut will result in a bunching and drooping of the material that is detrimental to the work of art. Build your own stretching frame in no time to jump-start the creation of silk art.

Things You'll Need

• Work gloves
• Safety glasses
• 4 wood frame pieces 2-inch by 2-inch
• Measuring tape
• Pencil
• Saw
• 80- to 120-grit sand paper
• 4 small brass hinges
• Hinge screws
• Drill
• Silk piece
• 12 push pins
• 12 safety pins
• 12 small rubber bands

Instructions

1. Cut the frame. Saw the 2-inch-square pieces to suit the height and width of your piece of silk. Make the frame 2 to 3 inches wider and taller than the silk. The extra inches are necessary for stretching in later steps.

2. Sand the framing material with 80- to 120-grit paper. Secure the frame pieces to each other with small brass hinges.

3. Lay the frame onto a flat surface. Unfold and center the silk piece in the middle of the frame.

4. Press push pins into the frame. Use the silk piece as a guide. Evenly space and push three pins into the center of the top frame. Continue around the entire frame in the same manner, with three pins on each side.

5. Attach safety pins around the perimeter of the silk 1/8-inch in toward center from the edge. Make the safety pins in line with the push pins, with three on each side.

6. Secure one rubber band to each safety pin. Pull the rubber bands back and attach them to their respective pins to stretch the silk. The stretching creates a "trampoline" effect, giving the silk an identical look to a trampoline mat. Stand the frame upright and being painting.

References

• Dharma Trading Company: Silk Painting Basics