Brown, Rust, and Beige Hand-painted Silk Scarf Using Shibori Technique

     Using two new dye colors from a recent order as well as a deep brown already in my stock, I experimented with another Shibori technique somewhat similar to the flag fold technique I used for a coral toned scarf. I was delighted with the results--once again a complete surprise for me as a newbie to this style of silk dyeing. In fact, I couldn't wait to show this scarf to you. The dyes still need to be steam set, which will make the colors even richer. Then the scarf will be ready for its first thorough washing and careful pressing. Here, it still sports its Shibori folds.

center section detail

     The scarf's rich tones resulted from two factors. One is the inherent beauty of these French silk dye colors. The other was my concern that the dyes were not penetrating deeply enough into the folds, leading me to soak certain areas with additional dye. For this scarf, I was trying to color it all, not to leave any spots white.

     These techniques are wonderful and sort of magical. The dye flow follows the folds and settles more heavily on the edges of the folds as the silk dries. I do not think that even an experienced Shibori artist could control or predict the exact design results. With less color saturation, this particular folding pattern produces a simpler chevron design. Obviously, my heavier use of dye resulted in a more complex final pattern.

detail from one end

detail from the other end

     A few more details for those of you who are interested in my process: I folded this 11" x 60" silk scarf lengthwise just four times rather than the six times used on the coral scarf. Then, the diagonal folds were made in a back and forth triangular pattern rather than the flag fold used on the ends of the coral scarf. Each fold was pressed as I worked. The result was a long folded strip rather than the triangular packet of the flag fold technique. I folded the strip in half lengthwise, soaked it with water, and placed it in a large aluminum foil pan to dye. Soaking a brush (about 3/4" wide) in one color after another, I saturated various areas, some larger than others. The scarf air-dried for more than 24 hours. When I unfolded it, magic!

     There is a link to an earlier post about the flag folded coral scarf above. One other Shibori inspired scarf using a twisting method stars in another previous post. Both posts credit the author and book that guided my experimentation; this brown, rust, and beige scarf also followed directions from that wonderful book, adapted my own way.

Question of the day: My landscape painting and silk scarf dyeing and painting give me a variety of creative experiences, some mostly under my control and some free form and surprising like Shibori dyed scarves. Do you prefer one kind of creativity over the other--loose or controlled? I thrive on both.

Coral and Rose Hand-painted Silk Scarf Using a Shibori Technique

The completed silk scarf

     This hand-painted silk scarf was an experiment using a technique derived from traditional Japanese shibori silk dyeing methods. For the 60" x 11" silk scarf, I chose three dye colors, an orange-toned coral, a mix of coral and yellow, and rose. 

     To make this design, I accordion-folded and ironed the blank white scarf lengthwise in 6ths and then folded it back and forth in triangles somewhat like the ceremonial folding of a flag, ironing the folds as I worked. I used wooden clothespins to clip the three corners and hold the folds in place. The exact directions (with diagrams) are in Fabric Surface Design by Cheryl Rezendes (from our wonderful public library). In a previous post, I showed you a scarf made by twisting before dyeing, the idea taken from the same book.

When scarf is first unfolded

Center section-vertical folds only

     Only the ends of the scarf were folded, which was not my plan, but happened because folding the entire scarf would have made too thick a bundle to handle. I knew that leaving a section in the middle simply accordion-folded would also create a nice effect and would give the scarf some variety. 

     Also an accident (this was my very first effort at a folding technique, after all) was the different color saturation of the two ends of the scarf. After making and clipping the flag folds, I set one edge of the folded triangle in a flat dish with about 1/4" of dye in it (as the book directed). It all promptly fell over, soaking that part in coral dye. I quickly pulled it out and used a brush to soak each of two sides of that triangle with each of my other colors (on top of the unwanted extra coral). On the other end, I just saturated the three edges, each with one of the three colors (no dish of dye=no danger of the bundle taking an unintended swim).

The end that "took a bath" in coral dye

The second end completed--brushed on color only

    Finally, I brushed a generous amount of dye on the edge of each long strip in the center section and let the whole thing dry for a couple of days. 

     I enjoyed this experiment and will be better prepared to make a future scarf using the flag fold technique--perhaps one with only 4 lengthwise folds and with different colors.

Question of the day: What recent creative experiment have you enjoyed?

"Sunset Hues" Hand-painted Silk Scarf

"Sunset Hues" just taken off stretcher

     "Sunset Hues" is an 11" x 60" hand-painted silk scarf in warm red, orange, purple, and yellow. It would look lovely on a dress or top in any one of those colors, and would be stunning on white or creamy neutrals.

Another view of "Sunset Hues"

     This scarf project flowed fairly easily in the angled soft striped design I had planned, unlike some that have evolved far from my original vision (the aqua scarf called "Floating", for example). The main decisions involved first, whether I wanted the colors to blend into one another with soft edges or whether I preferred some harder, jagged edges. The second choice concerned the location and depth of the colors. Some colors required several layers of dye to achieve the desired depth. I use the French-type of silk dyes, which require steam-setting before washing or wearing the scarves.

     The first layer was painted quickly with wide foam brushes wet-on-wet. In other words, I brushed clear water on the entire scarf on the stretcher, then quickly painted one stripe after another, blending the edges by rubbing with the brush or a damp paper towel. Done quickly enough, this technique results in soft blended edges.

Close-up detail

     Since I had decided to have some harder, jagged edges, the next layers of dye went on after the first layer was completely dry. The dyes act differently on dry silk, producing the interesting, sharper edges you see in the center section of the scarf.

     These photos were taken before the batch of three newly painted scarves were steam-set, and washed. So, the scarves are not quite as soft, nor the colors as vivid as they will be when all those (important, but less fun) steps in the process are finished.

Question of the day: What is your favorite accessory? I enjoy wearing scarves, but earrings are a must for every outfit.