Resist dyeing on black silk

[tiedyejudy]

Has anyone done discharge dyeing on silk?  I have a customer who wants silk scarves with black, and I remember seeing a post somewhere that dyeing silk black had mixed results.  So I thought if I bought a purchased black scarf, discharged and overdyed I would be able to accomodate her.  What happens to the silk when you bleach it?  Would it be better for me to just use discharge paste?

Judy

[fiberartist219]

Judy,

Do not bleach silk scarves! It will ruin them. You can probably use the discharge paste. I use thiorea dioxide to discharge my silk scarves. You can dye them black without too much difficulty, and depending on which mixture of black you use, it discharges nicely. I used Pro Chem's silk black, and it discharged to a golden yellow color. Of course, in some spots, it discharged more. Of course, with thiorea dioxide, you have to use heat to get it to work. You can either boil some water, or you can put the whole wad in the microwave like I did. When you do it, be careful, because it really stinks, and you want to make sure your area is well ventilated.

The only trick with silk is to make sure it is wet before you tie dye (or tie discharge). The resists will not show up if it is dry when you start out. If it is thouroughly wet, the places you tied up will swell with water and will absorb less dye (or discharge chemicals, whichever the case may be). Trust me, I learned this the hard way.

[Jaja]

Judy, no problem - just use proper discarge agent and do test beforehand, if your black is villing to discharge.



This was done with thiox (thiosulfite? - I'm not good in english chemical names)

[fiberartist219]

I just had fun a week or two ago with silk, MX dyes and thiox. I didn't have too many problems. The discharge did sneak into a few places that I didn't intend, but I think it actually added to my design rather than detracting from it.

Basically, I dyed some silk black with citric acid and Dharma's New Black (MX-CWNA). Then, I tied it up and discharged using thiox, soda ash and a little love from a microwave. After that, I over dyed it with turquoise, fushia and yellow. Some of the spots that were tied are black and others are off white, but it looks awesome. I'll post pictures in my jacket thread sometime next week. The lining of it is silk and the outside is velvet, but if I do this right, it may very well be reversible.... it depends on how I make the closures. I was intending on using ribbon, but my husband insists I should use buttons... we'll see.

I also have a piece of silk that I did the same way except the over dye was red. I might post that sometime. I was quite proud of that too. It was my test piece before I did the silk for the jacket.