Home FAQ How to avoid dye drying while I’m painting a large piece of silk?

How to avoid dye drying while I’m painting a large piece of silk?

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How to avoid dye drying while I’m painting a large piece of silk?

Question from Radhika:  I had to ask about how I can avoid dry lines when I am painting a bigger piece of fabric.  Because usually the frame is not big enough to fit the entire fabric and when I’m done painting a section and start another. There’s a dry line that forms in th back ground paint

Answer:  Radhika, hello, if you are painting a large area of silk with one colour, it’s quite possible that the dye will dry while you are painting, which will leave “dry” silk dye marks on the silk.

For my students, I always recommend to break the background into sections with Gutta or outliner designs so that there is LESS silk to paint at one time.

It takes a lot of practice to build up the skill with silk painting.

I don’t know how long you have been painting, but I do recommend you create sections on the larger area of silk (with Gutta or outliner) to prevent the dye from drying while it is being painting.

This will help you achieve the background you want, especially because you are painting on silk which is MUCH larger than your frame.

When you have stretched the first part of the silk on the frame:

  1. think of a simple design which can be drawn INSIDE the frame shape – this might depend on what your final design will be. Flowers? Patterns?
  2. Draw along 2 sides of the frame where the additional silk is to create a “barrier” or resist line to stop the background from spreading.
  3. Let the first series of painting dry.
  4. Remove the silk from the frame, and move it into a new position to paint on new white silk, creating more barrier lines to prevent the silk dye from flowing outside the lines (and outside the shape of the frame).

Would you be so kind as to please let me know which type of frame you are using?

I might be able to recommend an easy way to make a larger frame at a small cost.

Also I have some information about simple wooden frames here:

Can’t afford to buy artist stretcher bars?

  • If you’re on a very tight budget and you’re happy to pop over to your local hardware store:
  1. work out the measurements you’ll need
  2. and ask if they can cut lightweight wood for you
  3. also ask if they can “staple” the corners together to make a square
  4. or if they can recommend a very strong glue to glue the 4 sides together.
  5. This will be a makeshift solution if you need this in a hurry.

If you have more time:

  • ask them to drill holes in the 4 corners
  • and to recommend which nuts/wingnuts and bolts to buy to attach the corners together.

This is how I created my own frames for many, many years.