Technique
Dissolving of cellulose in velvet to create a translucent pattern.
Materials
- Velvet (mixture of protein- and cellulose-based materials)
- Fiber etch liquid
- Screen print stencil OR brush
- Iron
Method
- Steam-iron the velvet
note: iron on the non-fuzzy side - Place the pattern template on top of the velvet
- Pour etching liquid onto the edge of the silk screen frame
- Sweep over the screen a few times until the etching liquid is evenly distributed onto the velvet
- Leave the velvet to dry for 24 hours as the liquid ‘eats’ the cellulose
- Iron the velvet to remove the burnt fibres
- Wash to stop the process
Results
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- the liquid did not seep through properly
-
- could only see a tiny bit of the effect at this corner
Reflection
Unfortunately the fiber etch liquid couldn’t spread evenly through the stencil even though I swept over it a few times, so the sample was a failure… only little bits of the fibre could be brushed away. For future reference, I think it would be better to apply the liquid directly with a brush – or if a stencil is absolutely necessary, the surface of the fabric needs to be checked (apparently there is a slight difference in shade when the liquid is applied).