Post by Saionji Shonagon on Jan 26, 2005 2:00:38 GMT -5
www.geocities.com/wodeford/stencildetail1.jpg
www.geocities.com/wodeford/stencilprinting4.jpg
www.geocities.com/wodeford/stencildetail2.jpg
www.geocities.com/wodeford/stencildetail3.jpg
This is a kosode I'm working on. Since I can't afford to do real surihaku (gold leaf adhered to silk with rice paste), I got the best metallic fabric paint that Dharma Trading carries. It's called "Lumiere" and I'm pretty pleased with the richness of the color.
If you've never done stenciling before, some tricks of the trade:
1. Wash and press your fabric before cutting it out or painting on it. This will remove any fabric treatments or lint and if it's going to shrink, you want it to happen before you attack it with scissors or brush. Depending on your design scheme, you may find it easier to work on an unassembled or partially assembled garment - I sewed up the back seam and added the front overlap panels, but left the sides open and didn't attach the sleeves. This allowed me to work on flat sections and keep some symmetry to my design, as I wanted to have a different detail banding the bottom of the kosode.
2. Cut your stencil out of mylar if you can. Card stock works ok (I cut up a manila file folder), but after you've used the stencil a few times, the edges get too wet and you have to let the cardboard dry. If you have very fine cuts, you can even damage the stencil by letting it get too wet. Mylar doesn't have this weakness, plus, it's easier to wipe off excess paint between uses.
3. Don't use too much paint. Most craft stores carry brushes specifically designed for stencilling. They have round, flat heads. Dip the brush in paint, then tap the brush on a paper towel to remove the excess. Tap the brush onto the fabric at the edge of the stencil with light, firm taps, working around the edges, then into the center. This will reduce (and hopefully eliminate) any bleeding of paint along the stencil edge. If you have a steady hand and a finer brush, you can neaten up edges a little after you've removed the stencil.
4. Pat BOTH sides of the stencil dry with a paper towel between uses to keep from getting dabs of paint in the wrong places when you lay the stencil back down on the fabric.
5. Have a few clean Q-tips handy. If you make a mistake and you catch it while the paint's wet, you may be able to clean off that paint droplet with a damp - not sopping - Q-tip.
6. Read and follow the instructions for your paint. Most fabric paints require some sort of heat treatment to set them on the fabric, usually with an iron or sometimes tossing the fabric in the dryer. Let the paint dry for a good 24 hours BEFORE heat setting it.
Makiwara
www.geocities.com/wodeford/stencilprinting4.jpg
www.geocities.com/wodeford/stencildetail2.jpg
www.geocities.com/wodeford/stencildetail3.jpg
This is a kosode I'm working on. Since I can't afford to do real surihaku (gold leaf adhered to silk with rice paste), I got the best metallic fabric paint that Dharma Trading carries. It's called "Lumiere" and I'm pretty pleased with the richness of the color.
If you've never done stenciling before, some tricks of the trade:
1. Wash and press your fabric before cutting it out or painting on it. This will remove any fabric treatments or lint and if it's going to shrink, you want it to happen before you attack it with scissors or brush. Depending on your design scheme, you may find it easier to work on an unassembled or partially assembled garment - I sewed up the back seam and added the front overlap panels, but left the sides open and didn't attach the sleeves. This allowed me to work on flat sections and keep some symmetry to my design, as I wanted to have a different detail banding the bottom of the kosode.
2. Cut your stencil out of mylar if you can. Card stock works ok (I cut up a manila file folder), but after you've used the stencil a few times, the edges get too wet and you have to let the cardboard dry. If you have very fine cuts, you can even damage the stencil by letting it get too wet. Mylar doesn't have this weakness, plus, it's easier to wipe off excess paint between uses.
3. Don't use too much paint. Most craft stores carry brushes specifically designed for stencilling. They have round, flat heads. Dip the brush in paint, then tap the brush on a paper towel to remove the excess. Tap the brush onto the fabric at the edge of the stencil with light, firm taps, working around the edges, then into the center. This will reduce (and hopefully eliminate) any bleeding of paint along the stencil edge. If you have a steady hand and a finer brush, you can neaten up edges a little after you've removed the stencil.
4. Pat BOTH sides of the stencil dry with a paper towel between uses to keep from getting dabs of paint in the wrong places when you lay the stencil back down on the fabric.
5. Have a few clean Q-tips handy. If you make a mistake and you catch it while the paint's wet, you may be able to clean off that paint droplet with a damp - not sopping - Q-tip.
6. Read and follow the instructions for your paint. Most fabric paints require some sort of heat treatment to set them on the fabric, usually with an iron or sometimes tossing the fabric in the dryer. Let the paint dry for a good 24 hours BEFORE heat setting it.
Makiwara
