Granny Goofs, and You Gain! ~By MysticSilks

It's been awhile since I've blogged about anything. I usually like to have something new, and or different to share with folks: This blog is definitely about the new and different !
About a month ago I ordered some blank scarves to design and dye. I ordered the 30x30 inch size thinking this would make for a most versatile silk scarf, as one could arrange or rearrange the material to suit what best appeals to them,i.e; wrap about the head and neck,or tie just around the neck;at any rate there's the length and width of material to play with.
As my hands are not as steady as they once were,I find it too much of a challenge to draw an image onto the silk scarves. Yet, I did not want to simply run dye across the scarves and call it a done deal. So, my daughter and I went out one of the last chilly snowy days for 6 hours looking for stencils(appealing stencils);we found not one thing meeting the criteria for appealing.

I was quite disappointed, and my back ached from all that walking. I decided to try amazon.com for stencils. In my search I found four books of all kinds of images, from zoo animals, to horses,flowers, butterflies, fish:I apprehensively ordered the books of stencils, not knowing exactly their size, nor quality.
Well, when they arrived I could hardly believe my good fortune;they were the right size for using on a silk scarf, plus the quality was excellent!
Humph, I thought to myself, and I spent 6 hours looking in the stores and malls. The theme" Let your fingers do the walking " went humming through my mind.


I washed any silk worm residue from the eight scarves, rinsed then ironed them.
I then tacked the scarves to a foam core board. Previous to that I had traced the selected images on tracing paper which I would place under the silk scarf to use as a pattern. I placed these traced images under the silk on the foam-core board, then began to use tinted resists to draw the images onto the silk. As I worked I was chatting with my grand-daughter who was home on spring break from medical school:In other words I wasn't being fully focused on what I was doing.
OK, the images were drawn on all eight scarves, I tacked them to the studio wood frame in preparation for dying. I dyed two scarves at a time, let them dry overnight, then tacked two more, till all eight scarves were dyed. On the 5th day I wrapped them in sheets of paper, then rolled the packaged scarves onto the wire cylinder and tied the package to secure it to the cylinder to prevent the packaged scarves from slipping into the water while steaming:God forbid!


The six day I set up my steamer, waited for the water to steam, then placed the rolled scarf package onto the riser in the steam pot; This keeps the scarves out of the water, and just allows the steam to penetrate the scarves. I set the timer for two hours. But I ran up and down the steps 10-12 times to make sure everything was safely steaming.
Steaming time was up,I carefully removed the steaming scarf package, snipped the ties that held the scarves on the cylinder, unrolled each scarf. I draped the scarves over chairs to allow them to air dry overnight. Next day they were all washed in a gentle sudsy bath, rinsed dozens of times, then ironed.
Next day as I began to get ready to take photos of them on my mannequin head prop.


As I draped the scarves in different positions to get the best shot, I notice to my most horrific awareness that all the images were inverted! In other words instead of drawing the images facing outward , away from the designer, I drew them facing me.
This affect will cause the observer who looks at the scarf while being worn, to cock their heads sideways, or upside down to get the proper view!!
That my friends is the reason for the title" Granny Goofs: Your Gain" As a result these scarves which would have a $40.00 price tag will now be almost given away for $25.00.
Do visit my website:http://mysticsilks.etsy.com

Thank you!

MysticSilks

The Process of Creating Silk Scarves~~~MysticSilks

For me, each step of creating a silk scarf is comprised of intense moments, and I think that's because I want each piece of silk art to be just what the buyer is looking for.

OK, I have layered and rolled all the dyed scarves onto a wire roll( see photo to the right). Just layering each scarf and then rolling the batch of layered scarves is a 2 hour process. You don't want any scarf sticking out and overlapping onto another scarf. After I've rolled the batch onto the wire mesh cylinder, I set up the steaming pot. (See photo to the left).If I would have purchased a pot from a catalogue I would have payed close to $300.00.This steaming pot saved me about $280.00, because I bought a clam chowder boiler pot. Then a friend rolled a piece of sheet metal to fit inside the pot leaving about 2-3 inches away from the sides of the pot. He popped it with some rivets to hold its shape. On the bottom of the pot sits a raised round metal pan with holes cut into it. This is where I set the cylinder of scarves on top of that metal pan which is 7 inches above the water

I always set up the steaming pot inside the garage. I pour 4-5inches of water into the bottom of the pot. The water never, NEVER touches the cylinder of scarves. All you want to have circulating around the scarves is steam, never water. Before the cylinder is placed into the pot I wait till the water is at a low boiling point.

The cylinder is placed onto the metal pan, careful not to touch the sides of the rolled sheet metal. I then cover the top with a couple of braided rugs, 2 towels, and heavy cotton sheet, which I tuck around the side of the pot to hold the steam in.

Then comes the waiting game; usually 2-3 hours. It takes that long to allow the steam to set the dyes deep into the fibers of silk. I am up and down the two step into the garage maybe 30 times in that 2-3 hour period of time.

I am making sure the pot has not tipped over. I am checking to make sure the water is still at the right level and slowly simmering. And that the steam is pouring through the rugs, and towels I have placed over the pot: These are all good indications that everything is coming along just right!

The time is finally up! I turn off the electric hot plate, and lift the cylinder full of steaming scarves out letting them cool before unwrapping. I empty the chowder pot of hot water in some weedy part of the garden. Turn it upside down to drain any excess water. I hang the rugs and towels up to dry.

And then , and then I begin to cut the strings that held the wrapped scarves onto the cylinder. I unroll the batch, then begin to peel off each layer of newspaper, releasing each silk scarf. I check to make sure there are no splash over of other dyes. Hey, no matter how careful I've been, sometimes it just happens. But they are beautiful ooopses.

About 3 batches ago, I had some beautiful ooopses. Each one I sold, the buyers comments and feedback were all very positive. Go to my http://mysticsilks.etsy.com/ feedback and read. Except for one. I gave her, the buyer good feedback;payed promptly, etc. She slaps me with negative feedback and the most nasty comments: Poor quality, poor wrapping.

WOW! I was heartbroken. I contacted her offering her a refund if she was that unhappy.

She wrote me back, she couldn't return it. She had given it as a gift!!

If you figure that one out, let me know. How displeased was she? Or did she dislike the person she gave the gift to? But if you didn't like someone, would you give them a gift?

I have remained puzzled since that time, and kind of sad , too. Cuz I really loved that scarf. The one to your left is that scarf!

OK,the scarves are peeled away from the layers of newspaper. I let them dry overnight. The next day, I wash the scarves in a gentle soap water. Then each scarf is rinsed till the water runs almost clear. I say almost because, it seems for the first few washings there will always be a residual bit of dye in the scarf. Out comes the ironing board and each scarf while damp is ironed. Then I set up my photo taking drop cloth, and begin to set up the scarves for their photo session. This is an all day process. I take 5-6 different angles with different props.

The I head over to picnik.com and edit each photo till I am satisfied I have brought out the best depth of colors. You'd think we'd be finished, huh?

But no! Off I go to http://mysticsilks.etsy.com/ or to http://mysticsilks.artfire.com , and if it's a painting, off to http://designstyleguide.net and I spend another 2 hours per scarf to list each scarf separately on one of those website stores.

I wait with anticipation till my silk beauties sell, and I hear how pleased each buyer is--:)

Thank you--:)

MysticSilks

The Long Road To a Designer Silk Scarf```MysticSilks

I thought I'd share with the general public
the long process of creating a designer silk scarf from start to finish.
The beginning step is the ordering of the pure white silk scarf, which like oranges, come all the way from China: I wish there was a place in the USA to order them from. The scarves arrive, and the next step is washing them all by hand in a soapy water that extracts any remaining silk worm residue. Then it's dunkie, dunkie, into a fresh rinse water, a gentle squeeze, and hang them up to dry.
Or while damp, I usually just iron the wrinkles out. I did not take any photos of the beginning steps.I was saving the reader from some boring views.The photo on the right is the next step. I pin rayon tabs of cloth at the top of my scarf, and around the sides.Then the silk scarf/scarves is/are pinned to a wood frame, which I should mention, were made by a dear friend of mine to whom I am forever grateful. The wood frames are filled with remnants of French dyes from previous dying sessions. I usually pin and frame two scarves at a time trying to pin them taught to help the dyes to flow more evenly over the scarf.. I cover the floor with a drop cloth to keep the floor free from dyes. After each silk scarf is dyed I let it dry for 24 hours. Then I set up another two to dye. My limit for the dying project is from 5-7 silk scarves. After we're through taking you through all the steps , you'll understand why```Smiling~~~ I use French dyes as there are the best and produce the deepest and most beautiful colors.

Tomorrow, I will post more on the process of creating designer silk scarves.

Be aware of this, the process is not a walk in the park.

http://mysticsilks.etsy.com/

http://mysticsilks.artfire.com/

Please read my other blog: In My Personal Opinion.

Thank you

MysticSilks