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1)You will need the following tools to paint: silk, of course, silk paints, brushes of various sizes, a wooden frame, 3 point pins, gutta, pipettes with different size nibs... You can also need cotton buds, blotting paper, palette, jars... |
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3) Place the pattern under the wooden frame and outline it with the gutta. You can do it either with an applicator directly, or with a pipette with a nib. The nibs are of different sizes: a number 10 nib is bigger than a number 3 one, which is very thin. Each colour area must be completely enclosed by the gutta! |
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5) The colours are fixed by ironing or steaming, depending on the paint. To steam it, roll the silk in newspaper with tinfoil on the edges, put it into a basket covered by tinfoil, and place it into a pressure cooker with enough water for 1 hour. The basket mustn't touch the water (you can place something under it). |
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7) Place the picture tightly into a wooden frame with some pins. Please note that this frame must be 5 cms smaller than the silk piece. As the silk is slightly transparent, you can stick the frame and a white cardboard together. Thus, colours will be even brighter. |
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2) Draw the design on paper with a felt tip pen. Note that the design has to be smaller than the piece of silk, since you will need a margin to attach it to the frame. Then, the silk must be placed on the wooden frame and stretched tightly with the 3 point pins, placing a pin every 5 or 10 cms approx. |
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4) Now you are ready to apply the colours on the outlined areas with a brush. You must be careful, because when the colour touches the silk, it inmediatly spreads towards the gutta barrier and would surpass it if it is broken. If there is too much paint in the brush it will also run beyond the gutta limit. |
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6) Handwash the silk carefully silk with lukewarm water to get rid of the spare dye. Hang it out spread so that the colours won't run. When it's still wet, iron it on the opposite side of the gutta. |
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8) Now you have a beautiful, original bright-coloured silk painting. It can be washed separately if it gets dirty or dusty, by using soft soap and cold water. As any other hand-made painting, it shouldn't be exposed directly to sun, or else it would fade. |
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