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The Serti (closing or fence) technique is the
silk painting technique where designs are formed with gutta
or water-based resists, which are applied to white silk that has
been pre-washed, dried and stretched (on a stretcher). Once
the gutta or water-based resist has dried, it acts as a
barrier for the dye or paint—keeping the color within
the outlined areas of the design and allowing you to achieve
sharply defined borders. (Without this barrier, the dye or
paint would flow into more of an abstract, undefined
pattern.) After the dye or paint has been properly set, the
clear gutta or resist is removed and a defining line the
color of the original fabric remains. Colored guttas and
resists are also available that are meant to remain in the
fabric.
Detailed patterns without
resists can be achieved by instead priming the prewashed
and stretched silk with a stop-flow primer
which is left to dry before painting on the dyes or paints.
The color will stay where you put it, rather than migrating.
Allows for freehand painting without gutta or water-soluble resists.
Think of stop-flow primers as starch-like sizing to prepare
the canvas with. They wash out in the
end.
Watercolor-like effects
can be achieved by applying dye or paint to silk that has
been pre-washed and put on stretcher bars whether or not you
are using resists (but not if you are using stop-flow).
Dyes or paints are applied to the silk with a paint brush,
mist sprayer, eye dropper, or other
tools to achieve abstract effects. Spraying the silk
lightly with water before adding color increases the flow of
the dye or paint. Sprinkling silk salt on the piece
when still wet, and leaving till completely dry before
brushing off the salt, produces interesting textural
effects. Applying alcohol to dye-painted silk also creates
beautiful effects.
WHAT YOU NEED:
- Silk
Paints or Dyes
- Paint Brushes
- Gutta or
Water-Soluble Resist
- Applicator Bottle for the
resist
- Some kind of Stretcher Frame
-
A white silk item to paint
on
HOW IT'S
DONE:
Step 1: Prewashing
your silk
Step 2: Preparing
your design
Step 3: Making a
Stretcher Frame
Step 4:
Stretching your silk
Step 5:
Applying gutta or resist
Step
6: Applying dyes or paints
Step 7: Setting/Fixing the
color
Step 8: Removing clear
gutta or clear water-based
resist
Step 1: Prewashing your
silk
Pre-wash your silk by hand or in the
washing machine on a gentle cycle with warm water and
Synthrapol. Rinse, dry and when still slightly damp, press
with an iron, set to the silk setting.
Step 2: Preparing your
design
With a pencil or vanishing marker,
lightly draw your design onto the silk. The Serti Technique
lends itself well to designs with enclosed areas where the
color will be contained within the resist
lines.
Step 3: Making a
Stretching Frame
You will need a frame to
stretch your silk and suspend it off the table. There are a
variety of types of frames you can use, depending on the
size of the piece you are painting and the materials that
are available to you. Artist's canvas stretcher bars work
very well. They are sold at most art supply stores in
different lengths, in pairs. Old wooden picture frames also
work well or you could build your own frame with wood. The
wood that you use needs to be soft enough to allow push pins
or 3-pronged tacks to be pushed into it. In a pinch, you
could also cut out a frame from a cardboard box.
If you are painting a
piece that has already-finished edges (such as a scarf), you
will need to make sure that the inside measurements of the
frame, are at least 2-3 inches larger (on each side) than
the silk piece you will be painting so that the edges of the
silk will not make contact with the stretcher bars (which
would leave unwanted paint marks on the silk). You can
create a 'trampoline' effect with rubber bands and safety
pins or silk clips
(see below).
Step 4: Stretching your
silk
 Stretch your silk onto your frame with stainless steel push
pins or silk thumb
tacks every 4-6 inches along each side. Another method
is to use rubber bands and safety pins, silk clips, or Chinese Suspension Hooks: attach
small safety pins, clips, or hooks connected to rubber bands to the
edges of the silk, every 4–6 inches; the rubber band
then goes around a push pin which pins into your frame). If
need be, you can link rubber bands together for extended
lengths. The advantage of the rubber bands method mentioned
above is that the elasticity of the rubber bands will
maintain the tension of the silk for you.
The goal when stretching your silk
is to create just the right amount of tension so that the
silk remains taut while you are painting but not so tight
that it tears. Your piece may have a tendency to sag a bit
once it becomes wet with dye or paint; you may need to
adjust the pinning as you are painting.
Your frame also needs to be suspended
a few inches above your table so that the silk does not have
anything touching it; you can do this by placing upside down
plastic cups or wood blocks underneath each corner of your
frame.
Step 5: Applying your
gutta or resist
(see discussion of Guttas vs.
Water-soluble Resists to decide which to
use)
 Using even pressure and a steady hand while
holding the applicator bottle vertically with the tip
touching the silk, draw on your resist lines. Be sure that
there are no breaks or gaps in the line (or dye or paint
will escape!). Check the back side of your piece to make
sure the resist has penetrated all the way through. If it
hasn't, you will need to apply resist to the back side as
well. (This is sometimes necessary when working on silks
heavier than 12 mm. Let the resist dry (you can speed up
the drying time with a blow dryer, or heat gun) before
painting.
Step 6: Applying your
dyes or paints
(see discussion of dyes vs.
paints to decide which to use)
 Dip your brush into the color and apply the
dye or paint sparingly to the center of an outlined area by
touching the brush to the silk. Let the paint move to the
resist line – do not apply the paint too close to the
resist (if water-based resist becomes too saturated the line
may begin to dissolve!) If there is a gap in your resist
line that you didn't notice and the dye or paint starts
escaping, you can stop the movement by drying it quickly
with a hair dryer and then patch up the line with gutta or
resist and let dry before resuming. When painting large
areas (e.g., background), work quickly, applying wet to wet
to avoid unwanted lines.
Step 7: Setting the
color
When you have finished applying the dye
or paint to the silk yardage or scarf, it's not permanent
until you "set" or "fix" the color so
that in the future you can wash or dry clean the piece
without all the color washing out.
The
method of "setting" or "fixing" the
color depends on the chemistry of the dye or paint you are
using. Before purchasing any dye or paint, you should read
the directions thoroughly to determine if the required
procedure fits your project and situation.
Setting paints with heat (Dye-na-Flow, Seta-Silk, Silkcolor by
Sennelier, Arty's
Heat-Set)
 Allow to dry 24 hours before heat-setting
the paints with an iron, 2-3 minutes on each area of your
piece, face down on your ironing board with a press cloth
between the silk and your iron. You may also want a
protective cloth on the ironing board as well. Work in
small areas at a time, moving in a small circular motion so
as not to burn the silk, but also so that each section
maintains the heat for a long enough duration to actually
set the paint.
Setting dyes with steam (Sennelier Tinfix
Design, Pebeo Silk
(Pebeo Soie), Jacquard Silk Colors (green
label), Dupont
French Dyes, Procion
Liquid H)
Of the two methods for setting silk
dyes, the steaming method produces the most brilliant
colors. Some people don't want to go this route, but those
who do are usually very happy with the results. Read detailed steaming
instructions.
Setting dyes
with chemical fixative (Tinfix fixative for
Tinfix Design, Jacquard
Dyeset for Jacquard Silk Colors)
If you don't
want to go the steaming route, Tinfix and Jacquard have
liquid fixatives for their respective dyes. They can be
painted on top of the dyes, or the project can be submerged.
The colors will not be as brilliant and they may not be as
colorfast as they would if set by steaming. Follow the
manufacturer's directions for using the chemical
fixatives.
Step 8: Removing clear
gutta or clear water-based resist
Once the
dye or paint has been properly fixed, it's time to remove
the gutta or resist. Clear gutta is removed by dry
cleaning. Clear water-based resist is removed by rinsing in
warm water. It comes out easily when used with iron-set
paints, but some brands can be very difficult, if not
impossible, to remove after steam-setting dyes. Once the
resist is removed, hang dry, then iron lightly while still
slightly damp. See our gutta vs. resist page for more
details.
If colored guttas have been
used, do not dry clean (the color will come out with the
gutta)! They are meant to leave on the silk. There will be
some "hand" or "feel" on the silk. Some
people prefer to use the colored guttas on wall hanging
pieces only, rather than on wearable
art.
If colored water-based resists
have been used, follow the manufacturer's instructions for
heat-setting with an iron before painting on the color. See
our gutta vs. resist page for details. The colored resists
are meant to stay on the fabric. There wil be a
"feel" on the fabric.
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