How to Paint on Silk the Easy Way

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Habotai plain white silk scarf
Silk paints (Not silk dyes!! Very important.)
Water soluble resist (Gutta)
Water color brushes
Some kind of frame to hold your silk tight. Please see the article for suggestions.

Step 1

First gather all the supplies. Many craft shops carry silk painting supplies, but the internet is a better place to find them. One really terrific supplier is Dharma Trading. They carry everything you need and then some, and they have good explanations.

Start small. Buy a few small silk scarves to start. If you buy a 21" X 21" or a 6" X 24" scarf, it is easy to use artist's stretcher bars for your frame.

You want to get silk paints and not dyes. Dyes need to be steam set and that is more complicated. silk paints only need to be ironed to set them permanently. There is also a paint system that has a fixative you paint on, to set your colors.

You will also need water based resist, usually referred to as "gutta". Beginners can buy this in an applicator tube. If you think you will be doing more silk painting, by all means invest in some applicator bottles and tips, and buy the resist in a jar.
Step 2

To make a frame for your silk scarf, you can use wooden artist's stretcher bars available in any art supply or craft shop. If you buy them a little larger than you need, it's even better. Use steel thumb tacks and rubber bands as described below to mount your fabric.

I was working large so I made a painting frame from dry wall corners! In the picture you can see what I mean. I bought them at the lumber store, cut them the sizes I wanted with a pair of ordinary household scissors, and used wing nuts and bolts on the corners. I made the frame large enough to be adjustable so I could paint as large as 14" X 72". I don't recommend this to a beginner, because it's pretty unwieldy. But by all means, make one of these to work a bit smaller.
Step 3

I used rubber bands and brass safety pins (to avoid rust) to attach the scarf to the frame. You can use this same method with wooden stretcher bars.

Or, you can spend some more money and buy a frame especially made for silk painting!
Step 4

Now that you have your scarf all framed up like a trampoline, the hardest part is done!!

Decide what you want to draw on your scarf. You will be putting the drawing onto your silk with the resist. You want to have a design with enclosed shapes, rather like a coloring book. In fact coloring books can provide some good inspiration! Dover press has some great ones, and they also have royalty free clip art you can use. Or make your own design on paper. Put it beneath your silk and trace it carefully with the gutta. Practice on a scrap first, so you see how the gutta works!

In the example in the picture, I drew free hand, and that is a great idea. No one draws exactly like you, and you will have something really unique.
Step 5

Now this is very important! You want to make sure your lines of resist meet up and create enclosed shapes. If you don't close the shapes, your paint will migrate into other areas. Sometimes this can look interesting, but most of the time you do want to stay in the lines. Let the resist dry for about 20 minutes.
Step 6

Once the resist is dry, you can start to paint. Silk paint is very liquid and it moves fast. Don't paint right at the edge of your resist. Place your brush about 1/4 of an inch from the edges of the gutta, and watch what happens! The paint will move until it stops at the resist. It almost paints itself. You can blend your colors within the shape and create different effects. Try not to flood the area with too much paint or it will spread outside your lines. This actually happens all the time, and I think it adds to the charm, but just be careful.
Step 7

Let your fabulous creation dry, or speed things up with a blow dryer. When it is completely dry, take it off the frame.

Turn it back side up and iron it on the dry, silk setting for three minutes.
Now rinse the scarf out with soapy warm water. Your colors will not run, but your water soluble gutta will soften, and can be removed with gentle rubbing.

Let it dry, Iron it again if you like, and then put it on your hand painted silk creation and show it off!