Silk Paper and a Painted Shibori Technique

Two weeks ago several of my art group, ATW, met with a few members of Fiber Fanatics from the Myrtle Beach area to play with silk paper and a painted shibori technique using Setacolor paint. 

Here are a few of the pieces from Saturday:

Two pieces of silk paper



Wrapped on a 2" pipe



Wrapped diagonally on a 1" pipe

The clean up cloth wrapped on a 1" pipe

Last weekend I worked on additional painted pieces and took a few pictures to document the process.

I have used Setacolor for years but had never had such good results - my pieces tended to be on the pale side.  I think I have always water the paint down to much.

The technique uses PVC pipe, but no string.  I found the best results to start with a slightly damp fabric.  Thin the paint no more the half with water and then paint the fabric in a random fashion.

Then wrap the fabric around a PVC pipe - this piece was around a 2" piece. I think a 1" pipe works better.  On Saturday I wrapped the pipes tightly and had trouble with the next step so this piece was wrapped looser - but I was not as happy with the end result.

Now take the piece and smooched it together from both ends.

It makes a bit of a mess so be old clothes are a good idea.

Then set it aside to dry - completely - don't rush this step as your results will suffer. This is the result.