This is a blog post on natural printing on silk fabric. This blog post will go into where to buy silk fabric if you base in the UK. The links on how to do natural printing on silk fabric. Then finally the factors to consider if one is keen to pursue natural printing using silk fabric.
Instagrem reel I made on a silk fabric I printed
Silk fabric is not all vegan-friendly fabric but it is so easy to do natural printing with. The result is amazing as the print and colors that are printed onto the fabric Natural printing also known as eco dyeing is a great technique to produce lovely prints on fabric. I use bundle dyeing and use mostly a microwave. Here is how to use a microwave for natural printing/eco print fabric.
Natural printing on silk fabric
I buy my silk fabric from Pongees silk as they are reasonable and they provide an excellent service. Their minimum cut fabric is 1 meter so it’s good for small users to buy from them. To make silk fabric a more eco friendly fabric to use is to use silk noil fabric. Silk noil is silk fabric made from wasted silk left in the cocoon and it is much more environmentally friendly as it doesn’t require heave chemicals to process it.. They do have different feel compared to ordinary silk as they have more of linen and coarse texture rather then soft and shinny sheen. Here is where I buy them from. Different types of silk also gives different result from silk chiffon, twill and habutai. something to keep in mind.
For natural printing process I will go in more great depth in seperate blog post. I have mention some of the process in some depth my tip and tricks on natural printing using different dyes like logwood and dyers chamomile. There a few variables involve in the process of natural printing. Like most natural fabric printers I use bundle dyeing process. From the leaves and flowers use in making the print to the technique on how it is tied together affects the final outcome. As a result the starting cost of doing fabric printing isn’t cheap as silk fabrics in general aren’t cheap. Perhaps if one solely use habutai silk one can cut down the starting cost. If one is planning to sell the products time taken to perfect the art has to be factored in. There are courses I can’t recommend any as I haven’t done any.
