Monday, April 25, 2011

Silk scarves and salt



Eric: "You're a-salting that silk scarf!!"

Daniel: "It's ok...it's already dyed."

You see the things I need to put up with here at my studio? Good thing my sister gave me a bag of 'editorial pillows' to throw at pun offenders. (Little bean bags, but filled with dead nylon stockings. You can whip them across the room pretty accurately, but they don't sting when they hit.)

Anyway, I've been working up a batch of silk scarves this week. I got the blanks from Dharma Trading Company, and have been dying them up in a rainbow of colors using French Sennelier TinFix dyes. I paint down swirls of color, and then put salt on the scarves while they dry. The salt pulls the dye into all sorts of wonderfully intricate and organic shapes.



I've got a half a dozen dyed up, and have another half dozen to go. Hopefully I can get them painted tomorrow and Wednesday. I'll let them sit for 24 hours, and then steam set the dye on Friday. That will give me the weekend to wash and iron them, and they can get up in the Etsy shop next week, at $30 each.

Anyone have any favorite color combinations that they'd like to see? I'm having such great fun with these! Even with the puns from the peanut gallery.

5 comments:

  1. Ohhhhh wow!!! I love those silk scarves!!! xo Cait

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  3. what kind of salt did you use?

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    Replies
    1. Looks like rock salt for making ice cream

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  4. Peacock colors green blue purple and gold/yellow.

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