Once I started experimenting with the wonderful Mulberry silk laps, ideas on how to use them started popping up in my head one after the other, and I realized that possibilities truly are endless. And trust me, I experimented a lot and had a lot of fun.
Experimenting is definitely a necessary step, especially if it is your first time working with this material. There are several techniques you can use, and there is not limit to the effects you can achieve, so it is always worth it to spend some time to understand what you really want to obtain.
I believe the most interesting part is that you can both use silk laps to create unique surfaces or patterns, and spin it or use it to make creative paper sheets. Basically, just let your inspiration guide you!
However, because I need to choose only a few techniques to discuss, I’ve decided to tell you about those that I prefer for dyeing the Mulberry silk laps, and those that I used to combine it with superlight prefelt. Both are easy to use and, I believe, look great. Now, follow along with me!
You can use superlight prefelt as it is, or by cutting it to your liking, and then lay out a certain number of layers of silk laps, depending on what affect you mean to achieve. Obviously, the more layers you use, the thicker the felt is going to be.
If you decide to use many layers, I recommend you add small quantities of wool in between them, as the wool fibers will act as glue.
Another thing to keep an eye on is the use of color. If you choose the right color for each layer, you can achieve some unique effects. Whether it is a polka dotted pattern…
...Or a leaf pattern!
These are naturally only some small examples, but I hope that they will give you an idea of the endless possibilities that this material offers.
And now, let’s move on to how to dye Mulberry silk laps. Out of all the techniques, this is one of my favorites because it allows you to achieve some truly incredible effects. Incidentally, contrary to what one may think, dyeing silk laps is pretty easy and you do not need any expensive or hard-to-find equipment.
Indeed, in order to dye the Mulberry silk laps I used my microwave oven that I have at home. Of course, I had to do several small batches, but this did not create any problems. For dyestuff, there are many kinds that are perfect: all you need to do is make sure they are meant for protein fibers, and stick to the dosage recommended by the manufacturer. If you want to use natural dyes (not synthetic ones), you can find them also on dhgshop.it. They are great too.
So, here is how you do it:
What do you think about these color effects?
Caroline
PS: if you still want to experiment, why don’t you soak the laps again, this time in tea or coffee? You are going to love the result!
Caroline Merrell
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