Deb Steytler

I am Deb Steytler and have been using Green label Jacquard Silk Dyes for maybe 15 years? Time
flies! I recently retired from teaching High School Art and during that time I also was involved in the
Cleveland Ohio art scene as a figure artist, landscape painter and scarf maker.
Most of my best designs for silk have come from nature. Flowers,trees and birds. Sometimes I sketch
my friends on a scarf during short sketch sessions using a Pigma pen, maybe a #.3mm.

I use the following supplies:
Green Label Jacquard silk dyes
Jacquard Removable water based resist
Jacquard Metallic Resist
Gutta applicator with metal tips
Needle tipped applicator bottles (current favorite)
Stainless steel push pins scraps of fabric to adjust the attachment of silk to frame
fine straight pins
mixing palettes
Kosher Salt
No Flow-very handy!
Dye Set chemical for Green Label dyes
an iron
Pigma pens in various sizes and styles

I stretch my scarves on 14 x 60 inch wooden frames that were made for me using 1 x 2 inch lumber
My process currently has been to make miniature scarves (that become book marks) on watercolor
paper, looking for new color combinations and patterns. Sometimes I will do large brush and ink bird
or flower drawings on poster paper that is the same size as my scarf. Sometimes I will cut out parts of
drawings and arrange them on my template until I get a lively composition using an S-curve or a zigzag
motion. I am cognizant of how a scarf lays on the neck and shoulders and make sure something special
is in place where it will be seen, about 10 inches from the ends. Then I can pin the template up under
my silk and use the fabric pen that has disappearing ink to trace the design. I am sure to remove the
template so it will not get damp with the resist before I trace the design with resist. I let it dry and
inspect for gaps. Oh those annoying gaps! That's why I use the needle tip applicator as it has a larger
mark. When the resist is completely dry, I begin adding the dye.
I try a variety of ways to make the scarf. I am not hesitant to dye, fix and dye again. Sometimes it is
nice to have the background color permanent. Some nice result with salt can be made that way.