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You don't need to be good at drawing to paint
designs onto silk fabric. Here we show a neat trick for
utilising designs found around the house including printed
fabrics, wrapping paper, wall paper and even from colouring
books! Look for a good bold print which will show through the
silk fabric.
We're going to use the butterfly on this
printed fabric. |
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You will need to stretch your silk fabric taut
and pin it onto a frame (see our album 'Stretch fabric for
painting or Batik wax application'). Flip the frame over and
lay the silk fabric up close to the image you wish to
replicate. Pongee and Habotai silk have enough translucence to
allow a bold image to show through. |
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Trace the parts of the image you want with the
autofade pen. An autofade pen is an essential tool for silk
painters, Batik artists, embroiderers, and quilt makers. It is
like using a felt tip pen but the ink marks can be removed
immediately with water or they can be left to fade completely
within 3-4 days. |
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Mistakes are easily rectified. A cotton wool
bud, dampened with water, is wiped over the autofade pen mark
and the ink quickly dissipates. The remainder
of pen mark will completely fade away within 3-4 days. |
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The design can now be outlined using outliner
or gutta. Follow the lines of the tracing ensuring that all
loops are joined up and that the outliner has fully penetrated
the fabric. When dry, the outliner will make a retaining
barrier to keep painted colours within the defined sections. |
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Hold the design up towards the light to ensure
all the loops are joined and that the outliner has penetrated
the fabric. Using outliner and achieving a fine line takes
practice, the outliner has spread slightly as it is absorbed
into the finely woven Pongee silk fabric. If this is a
problem, paint the fabric with a coat of primer before
sketching your design to help control the absorbency. Allow to
dry thoroughly before painting. |
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Browse our
the Silk Painting section of our online shop to find out more about these
products > |