Carol R. Eaton Designs

Carol R. Eaton Designs

FABRIC FOR SALE: click on pages below!

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Silk + Sharpies + Alcohol = Yum!


It's been a while since I picked up the combination of silk, permanent Sharpie Markers and rubbing alcohol. Using the technique in the past I became impatient working on small areas and waiting for the silk to dry before moving to the next spot. However, I was reminded of Mark Lipinski's, Slow Stitching Movement to stop and enjoy the process - so I approached my luscious silk with patience and decided the end result would be worth the time. 
The tools: silk, a variety of empty containers, rubber bands, permanent Sharpie Markers, rubbing alcohol (90%) and some type of dropper to add a small amount of alcohol at a time 

Stretch the silk over the tops of empty containers and secure with a rubber band. The size of the container is not important and if you find another method for stretching the silk to lift off the surface than go for it, (and tell me what you did!)

Mark the silk with the Sharpie 

Add a drop of rubbing alcohol on your colored mark 

Here are 2 shades of blue spreading, mingling and starting to dry!

Once the blue was dried I heat set and started again adding purple

Once you get the hang of how many drops of alcohol to use and how the marker spreads its easier to predict the results 

If you want a large blended spot of color start with larger markings and more alcohol - for smaller spots use a light touch

Here is a detail of the finished piece!
The small circles remind me of dividing cells but what if I stretched the silk over a very large surface... what would happen?!

Oh the places to go...

10 comments:

  1. Hi Carol- This is really fascinating! Does it only work on silk? I'm supposing you could use embroidery hoops for a larger surface area. Thanks for sharing this technique.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ohhhh - I do have a very large embroidery hoop - great idea!

      It will work on cotton but in my experience the color doesn't move as much as it seems to on silk.

      Delete
  2. Another fascinating process with fabulous results.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your website is really cool and this is a great inspiring article. Alcohol Rehab Scarborough

    ReplyDelete
  4. Does the color stay if you wash it? I'm thinking about painting my very boring white silk sleeping bag liner.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm just not sure it would hold up with that type of use. My fear is the markers might bleed off onto your clothing or skin if you were damp... if you have a way to heat set the color you have a shot!

      Delete
  5. Hi Carol,
    I approach dyeing the silk scarves with Sharpies and alcohol a little differently, and achieve interesting results. I first press the wrong side of silk to the shiny side of freezer paper. This stabilizes the silk and gives you a lot of control for directing the flow of the inks. I like to use medicine droppers to apply the alcohol to non-adjacent areas and as a result, I get wonderful bubbles. For a final touch, I use a Pentel Gel Roller for Fabric to outline different shapes. The results get lots of "oohs and aahs!"

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow very nice information, it's more useful to me. Please keep posting like this.

    Silk Chiffon Fabric NYC
    Silk Organza Fabric NYC

    ReplyDelete
  7. The best techniques and the best explanation I could ever gather.

    ReplyDelete
  8. kadın topuklu ayakkabı fiyatları
    https://www.bakgiy.com/

    ReplyDelete