Stories
Playing with Color: Painting Silk
Mom has always been the color goddess. She just has a sense about those things. That’s why I was a little apprehensive trying my hand at silk painting, but with a little help I’m addicted. It wasn’t easy, but it was so much fun to see color combinations come to life on the silk, and worth the time it took for the amazing results. Here’s a little photo diary of the process:
The dye
- A pink base
- Adding color
- Painting
- Flower garden inspiration
- A microwave dedicated to dying
- Rinsing the silk
- Final products
About Author
6 Comments
Susan Szwakop McHenry
How does it go from being dull to so vibrant?
claudiachase
Maybe the photographs gave you that impression. In real life, there isn’t much change for the painting stage to the drying stage. If anything, the color gets a little richer when dried.
Janie
Isn’t it fun! What did you do after it dried, skein it, ball it or what?
Elena Zuyok
They’ll go onto bobbins from here.
Karen K.
I see the dye is from Dharma Trading but what type do you like to use? Is it exclusively for silk fibers or can anything be used?
claudiachase
We use acid dyes which work on protein fibers such as silk and wool.