Types and Qualities of Silk
There are many types and qualities of silk and all can be painted.
Natural silk is the best to start with because coloured silks will change
the colour of the paint. You must use a silk or a combination of silk and
wool if you are using the French silk paints. There are silks that comes
with starchy sizing, you must wash and dry the silk first before
painting otherwise the sizing will prevent the paint from entering the
silk properly.
There's a wide variety of weaves, and each has a different
surface texture. Forms of weaving:
- Plain Weaves – is the simplest form of weaving.
- Twills
- Satins
Examples of plain weaves:
Habutai (or Jap) and Pongee –
also known as 'paj', is a little too fine and easy to damage, but many
painters like it because it has a greater sheen. On habutai the paint
runs, or bleeds, a long way, and gutta sinks into the fabric more easily
than into heavier sinks. It does not absorb as much paint since Habutai
is a light weave, and so
the colors end up paler than the same dilutions would on a
heavier type of silk. Pongee is similar to 'paj' but made from spun
silk. Chiffon and Georgette - are woven in a looser way so that they
are filmy or sheer and shrink more when washed. Georgette has a rougher,
more crepe-like surface than chiffon. They are best used for scarves or
over clothes since you can see right through them. Gutta penetrates
easily, although you need to watch that the irregularities in the weave
do not result in gaps in your lines. Paint does not seem to bleed as far
as with the smoother habutai and the colors tend to look paler than on
other weaves because the fabric is so flimsy. Crepe de chine – has a
lovely sheen and is easy to sew and paint. It is excellent for both
scarves and for clothing. Slightly dilute the gutta and paint to ensure
that the gutta penetrates the fibre and avoid wasting the paint. This
fabric is able to hold more paint than lighter weaves, that you can
achieve intense hues. Twill – have diagonal line pattern across the
fabric. Lightweight twill suitable for scarves and blouses or shirts is
sold simply as 'twill'. It is very shiny, soft and slippery and
therefore hard to sew, but is favorable to paint on. Gutta on twill
forms an effective wall into the fabric. Satin and Satin Crepe – a
third major category of weave. Its main characteristic is a smooth
surface and shiny. A simple satin is slippery that it is hard to sew,
but easy to paint. It's good for scarves and lightweight clothing. Satin
crepe-is satin on one side and
crepe on the other, which is heavier than the plain satin and
easier to sew. It requires gutta to be diluted more than usual to ensure
penetration. It is not suitable for scarves only because the two sides
of the fabric look so different from each other.
Noil and Raw Silk – very heavy weights with no sheen. Noil
has little flecks of brown matter through it. Neither fabric is
suitable for scarves, but both are good for jackets and pants or
other outer garments. They absorb a lot of paint and will not
bleed much
at all. Same with thick silks, you will need to dilute the paint
with a lot more water because thick weaves soaks up so much
paint that the colors become more intense and some of the paint
will inevitably wash out if there is too much of it for fibres
to hold. Gutta does not penetrate the tight thick weave easily,
thus in silk you have to
dilute it more and make very thick gutta lines, even gutta both
sides of the silk – or use hot wax instead of gutta. Jacquard
– similar appearance to a damask tablecloth. It is a fabric with a
repeating picture or woven into it. The pattern is more commonly shinier
than the background. Because there is such a variety it is hard to
generalise its reaction to the paints and gutta. Basically, the heavier
and more complex jacquard the more you will need the gutta and paint.
Availability
There are varied prices for silk and the variation is not
only between types but also between suppliers. Silk is available from
most retail fabric stores, wherein buying silk wholesale will further
reduce the price.
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