Procedure
1. Scour the fabric by machine washing in HOT 140^oF (60^oC) water, or by hand in a pot on the stove with ½ tsp (2 gm) PRO Dye Activator or Soda Ash and ½ tsp (2.5 ml) Synthrapol per pound of fabric (454 gm, or 3 to 4 yards cotton muslin, or 8 yards 8mm China Silk, or 3 Medium T-shirts, or 1 sweatshirt). Rinse thoroughly. This step does not add the dye fixative to the fabric; it prepares your fabric for dyeing by removing any dirt, oil or sizing.

2. Prepare Pebeo Soie. All 80 colors of Pebeo Soie are ready to use and completely intermixable. Use Pebeo Soie straight from the bottle for full strength color intensity or dilute it for pastel shades. Dilute Pebeo Soie with water, alcohol or the Pebeo Soie Thinner. We recommend using the thinner when you want to obtain a lighter color while preserving the flow properties of the Pebeo Soie dye. Mix 5 Tbl + 1 tsp (80 ml) of the Pebeo Soie Thinner with 2 cups (500 ml) of water to make a ready to use thinner.

For salt techniques, try diluting Pebeo Soie with alcohol, instead of water or thinner. Alcohol mixed with dye exaggerates the salt star burst pattern. Add 2 tsp (10 ml) of alcohol to every ¼ cup (45 ml) of undiluted Pebeo Soie.

3. Stretch the fabric prior to painting. There are several frames available on the market for use in silk painting OR you can make your own using artist stretcher frames and stainless steel pushpins. First pin the four corners, then the middle of the four sides, pulling the fabric taut. You can avoid stretch lines by staggering the placement of the pushpins and not placing them directly across from one another. Continue placing pins every 2 - 3 inches apart, around all four sides, always working from the center outward to the corners.

4. Application Techniques Choose from three exciting ways to paint with Pebeo Soie: Traditional Silk Painting, Painting Freehand with Pebeo Anti-Diffuser and Painting Freehand with Thickened Pebeo Soie.

Traditional Silk Painting. For traditional silk painting with gutta, or Serti technique, use the Pebeo Solvent Based Gutta or Water Based Colored Gutta to apply the lines of your pattern.

Solvent Based Gutta is available in clear, gold, silver and black. If necessary, transfer the gutta to an applicator bottle with a narrow spout. If the gutta is too thick to penetrate the silk, thin it down with the gutta solvent. The thickness and amount of gutta you need depends upon the type and density of the fabric. Solvent Based Clear Gutta is removed by dry cleaning. Do not dry clean the gold, silver, or black solvent based gutta as dry cleaning removes it from the fabric.

Pebeo Water Based Colored Gutta is available in 12 colors, including clear. Apply the Pebeo water based colored gutta directly from the tube. After it is dry, heat set it with a dry iron using a press cloth between the iron and the fabric. Set the iron at the appropriate temperature for your fabric. This colored gutta remains a permanent part of the fabric, leaving a slight raised surface on the silk.

Once the gutta resist lines are dry, you can begin painting the silk with your prepared Pebeo Soie. Fill a wide mouth container with water; use this to rinse your brushes. The size of the area you are painting determines the brush size you need. Use a small brush for small areas and a larger brush to cover bigger areas. Dip your brush into the container of Pebeo Soie and lightly touch the brush to the center of an enclosed area. Allow the dye to spread out to the resist line. Continue adding dye and blending brush strokes or color while the dye is still wet and until the enclosed area is filled. Work quickly to prevent the dye from drying before you have all the color applied to an area. Be careful not to flood the fabric with too much dye, or the resist lines will break. Use a cotton swab or dry brush to mop up extra dye that pools in an enclosed area. Continue painting with dye paint until your design is complete. Steam as directed in Step 5.

Add visual texture to your silk painting with some of the pattern techniques below.

• Work "wet on wet" for fluid shading. This allows the color layers to blend harmoniously.

• A dark-edged ring is characteristic of applying dye paint to a dry dyed area. This is known as a "wet on dry" patterning technique.

• Sprinkle salt onto freshly painted wet silk for star burst explosions. Mixing alcohol with the dye magnifies the star burst pattern. Mix your dye, in step #2 with 2 tsp (10 ml) alcohol to every ¼ cup (45 ml) of Pebeo Soie. Timing is critical. If the silk is too wet, the salt completely dissolves. If the silk is too dry, there is not enough moisture for the salt to create the star burst patterns. Try different kinds of salt for various size patterns. As soon as the fabric is dry, brush off the salt.

Painting Freehand with Anti-Diffuser. Use Anti-Diffuser to prevent the dye from migrating across the silk. Apply it to the entire piece of silk, or to a specific area where fine detail is required. Thin down the Anti-Diffuser with a small amount of water. The consistency you need depends on the type and density of your silk. Apply the thinned Anti-Diffuser to the silk before painting, then allow the silk to air dry. Clean your brushes with water. Always test the Anti-Diffusant before working on a large project to make sure it has soaked into the silk sufficiently. Complete your freehand silk painting, and allow the silk to dry. Steam set as directed in Step 5.

Painting Freehand with Thickened Pebeo Soie. Mix Thickener with Pebeo Soie to paint without gutta resist lines. This technique is very useful for painting details, sponging, stamping, stenciling, monoprinting, and screen printing. The thickness described below is a guideline. Experiment until you get the thickness that suits your application needs. Thoroughly mix 4 tsp (20 ml) Pebeo Soie with 2 tsp (10 ml) Thickener. Paint freehand and allow the silk to air dry. Steam set as directed in Step 5.

5. Steam the painted silk using the Canning Kettle Method.

The pot or canning kettle must be deep enough to hold the wrapped fabric and wide enough so that the fabric bundle does not touch the sides of the pot. Invert the wire basket or bottle rack and place it in the bottom of the kettle. This serves as a platform for the bundled fabric to rest.

Make sure your painted or printed fabric is dry. Loosely roll the fabric, jelly roll fashion, in between a piece of muslin, cotton sheeting, pellon, blank newsprint, or kraft paper, so the patterned surface does not come in contact with itself. Then roll it like a cinnamon roll and loosely tie it to secure this shape.

Place the fabric bundle on top of the inverted wire basket. Wrap a towel around the lid of the canner to absorb condensed steam. This protects the fabric bundle from droplets of water falling back onto the bundle, which causes bleeding of the dyes.

Put water in the bottom of the steamer. Make sure the water is up to, but does not touch the bottom of the wire platform where the fabric bundle sits. Turn on the heat and once the water is boiling and is producing a good head of steam, place the fabric in the kettle. Set the timer for three hours. Check the amount of water periodically and add boiling water as necessary.

The steam time varies depending upon the type and weight of the fabric. For heavier fabric, remove the bundle after the allotted time, open bundle carefully and re-roll in opposite direction. Add boiling water if necessary and steam for the same amount of time.

6. Final wash. Rinse your silk in a 3 to 4 changes of room temperature water 75^o to 95^oF (24^o to 35^oC). Then wash HOT, above 140^oF (60^oC) adding ½ tsp (2.5 ml) Synthrapol per pound (454 gm) of fabric. Rinse well and air dry.

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