I don’t know about you, but this time of year I’m sometimes desperate for a gift idea for relatives, or office mates, or even my daughter! It has to be something a bit different. Something sort of special that can’t be found just anywhere and something that shows I think enough of the recipient to put in some time on a gift for them. But (SHHHHH!) the less time spent on it, the better, right? You want it to look like a million bucks, but not take your entire day to do it. That is the secret of this project.
FAST BUT FUN, TOO!
First off, this is not my technique but I think it’s pretty cool. So thought I’d share it with you. Just in case you need to do some last minute projects, too. If you want to get right to it, just skip down to the instructions below.
Otherwise, I thought you might enjoy a look at ‘scarf day’ at the New Orleans workshop a couple of weeks ago. We had a blast! Each person completed two or three scarves. It’s a rare class when people don’t want to break for lunch!
The first scarves you see below are BATIK.
We applied melted wax as a resist with tjap stamps, and anything else we could find…potato mashers, cookie cutters, etc. This is a lot of fun, but it takes more time, so we’re not going to talk about that today. Skip below to read about the ‘Marker Scarves’!
Belle, wearing her marker scarf.
MARKER SCARVES
Here’s What You Need:
SILK SCARF – order this today from Dharma Trading Company and you’ll have it next week, in time to complete for Christmas. They have several sizes. The one I’ve used here is: Habotai 8 mm, number H811 which is 11 x 60″. But they have many sizes and even an infinity scarf!
Here’s a direct link to their scarf page:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/scarves/silk/machine-hemmed-8mm-habotai-scarves.html?lnav=scarves_silk.html
SHARPIE CHISEL MARKERS (8 Pack) OR OTHER ALCOHOL MARKERS – You can usually find these at Wal-Mart or Staples, but here’s a direct link if you want to just stay home and order them from Amazon.
BOTTLE OF ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL (over 75% strength is best). You can find this at any CVS, Walgreen or maybe grocery store, too.
FILL A SPRAY BOTTLE WITH THE ALCOHOL
THAT’S IT! YOU’RE READY TO BEGIN.
- The markers will penetrate the scarf and go through the other side. So, why not double the scarf?
- Lay the folded scarf onto a board or a piece of freezer paper, just to be sure it doesn’t get onto anything if it seeps through the fabric.
- Draw onto the scarf with the Sharpies. DRAW SLOWLY so that you get a good layer of color into the fabric. In the photo you can see that I’ve drawn simple shapes: rectangles, squares and such. And I left a bit of white between them because they’re going to run a bit. FYI – This is so easy to do at night when you’re watching TV. Do the marker work, then spray the next day.
- Turn the scarf over and check the backside to see if it has enough color. If not, darken it.
- Now for the best part. Lay the scarf out flat onto a piece of freezer paper or other paper. The color will run thru, so you can get some pretty cool papers underneath that can be used for collage, for example. (We collage artists save everything, don’t we)?Now SPRITZ the scarf WITH THE ALCOHOL. Get it wet. While it’s wet it will continue to run the color. So, if there’s a place you don’t want it to run as much, don’t spritz as much. It’s that simple. It dries quickly. I like to spritz out in the garage or outside because I don’t want to take a chance of breathing in the alchohol spray. Don’t breathe it!
- When the scarf has dried, press it very well with a hot iron. This heat is what sets the color. Then you should be able to carefully wash the scarf when it needs it.
- Here’s a photo of my first finished scarf. I like it!
Finished Scarf
I also want to treat you to a look at an absolutely fabulous scarf that was done by Luella from Australia. This is part of her scarf “in process”. Wow. Pretty nice piece.
So, relax and know you have a fall back for those last minute gifts. People will think you’re amazing creative! And YOU ARE!
Finally, if you want more information about this technique, check out a book by Suzanne McNeill called, “Creative Dyeing”.
That’s it for this week. Off to buy the turkey and maybe unpack! Wow, I have two months off before traveling again, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.
Thank you all for reading.
Kathie xo
Thank you for this tip. I LOVE it!! We made tee shirts with markers but I never thought of doing it on silk scarves…and I happen to have some silk scarves in my stash!!
BJ, go forth and have fun!
Thank you. Heard about this, glad to see the tutorial.
Great idea. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving.
Thhis is FABULOUS!! Ok, now where do I get info on the batik process? Is it in Suzanne’s book? Or is it the same process as batik on rice paper only using markers and alcohol? Please sir (m’am), I want more!
I love this. Will definetly make some
I am so excited. I signed up for your scarve workshop at The Villages already . See you there!
Kathie,
I have a box full of Sharpie markers, but they are not the chisel point. Do you think those would work? The ink should be the same…my guess is that it would just take longer to apply the color. What do you think?
Yes, Pam, any ALCHOHOL based ink will work. So, Coptic markers, too, although more pricey.
And yes, think it would take you a while to apply with those tiny tips. A whole set of the big ones is only $8 from Amazon, I believe, so go for it! And how was that fantastic trip you were on?
BRILLIANT, you always teach us such cool stuff, thank you Kathie.
Thank you for the tips. Not tried this technique yet. Working with Arlington WA Boys and Girls Club on silk handkerchief in two weeks using Dye-na-Flow which can be used for sun painting. Hopefully, we will have some sun. Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
Kathie, Thanks for sharing & for including the lovely works of art from my New Orleans friends. I have some bottles of Adirondak Alcohol Inks. Do you think they would work or do you think it would be too “wet”?
Hmm….don’t see why they wouldn’t work if alchohol inks. They would spread when applied if liquid, but I’ll bet it would be a beautiful look when you’re done.
Wow, I love it. Thank you Kathie. What a perfect creative gift for my friends!
Enjoy your time off and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
You, too, Deb……and to all of you as well. Happy Thanksgiving!
i was in this New Orleans workshop and these were so much fun!! I loved the batik method too!
Kathie, I bought more scarves and can’t wait to work on them!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!
My mind is still reeling from Raleigh!! Looked on Dharma website – the silks are so reasonable. Have you ever tried the soy wax for batik on fabric, rice paper? LMK. Happy Thanksgiving!
Barbara, yes, I’ve tried soy. It heats at a much lower temp and is ‘greener’, but I found that it spreads too much for me. I’m sticking with paraffin, which is much more controllable when using tjap stamps. Anybody else used it?
Kathy, I miss you soooo much!
What a great idea! I ordered some scarves last night, and I plan to paint these with my granddaughter Ellie and her girl friend. I just know we’re going to have a great time doing these, and I’m sure we’ll come up with some masterpieces. Thanks so much for sharing yet another great idea! Happy Thanksgiving! xoxo
Hi Kathie, was with you at the N.O. workshop, enjoyed it sooooo much. Can’t wait till next year to see what you come up with. And yes I have been scarf crazy ever since.
Love ya Bell
Kathie,
I love this painted Scarf idea
And will try it for sure. I missed
Being in New Orleans for your recent
Class. I moved back to my home state
Of FL. I still visit there though.
I’ve enjoyed your blog and look forward
to your post each time. Thanks for sharing
Your talents and heart.
Carolyn Ward
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Love doing this with you at MISA
I love this! Now I want to know how to do the batik on the scarves? Where do we get this info? I have a lot of tjaps.
Love your tips!