Rebecca Wachtman

My processes for gathering and prepping reclaiming silks for use  in silk paintings and other art projects (part 2 of 3) A pile of lovely silks (shirts, dresses, and PJ's) In my previous post, I talked about buying used silks...                          so now that I have them, what do I do with them? 4)  When I've picked out a group of silk items (like the shirts and dress in the previous post) and I know the silks will work with my preferred art methods.  My next step (other than purchasing the silk!) is to take the silks home and wash them .   I ALWAYS wash my silks. ALWAYS!!!   I can almost hear you shouting - WAIT DID SHE SAY SHE WASHES ALL OF HER USED SILKS?...  WHAT ABOUT "DRY-CLEAN ONLY"??  FYI - There are a few (VERY FEW) silks that don't respond well to washing because of how they were woven... but in general all silks love to be washed...and in nice hot water! ...

My processes for gathering and prepping reclaiming silks for use  in silk paintings and other art projects (part 1 of 3) I've had several people ask me what steps I take, when I find a silk item that I want to use for my art. Since you've asked, I thought I'd tell you ( I'm always happy to share! ). Silk chiffon overlay Silk Dupioni First of all, I usually find my silks at thrift stores and garage sales.  I have found a few on Ebay (that I was willing to pay for) and I've even had a couple of artist friends provide me with some new silk remnants (which is lovely because then I don't have to worry about prepping the silk for use). (These are pictures of just a few silks which I've found at various thrift stores)         1) The VERY first thing I do while in the store, is decide IF I can even use the silks I find.  I t's important to know how you want to use silk!   Are you painting on it, sewing with it, twisting it, decoupa...