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Project #62

Easy Silk Tie Projects for Father’s Day Gifts

Designed and Executed by: McKenna Flory, Age 12

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Here are three fabulous, fun fabric painting projects. Make a dazzling, unique tie for Dad as a gift, or better yet, paint one with him! These are great projects for more than one kid to work on together (we always recommend adult supervision). They are ideal for outdoors on the patio or picnic table (out of the wind).

The sun printing technique is the only one requiring direct sunlight. Drying time will vary depending on the technique and conditions, but figure at least 2 hours or overnight. For any of the following techniques: to create darker colors, you may apply fabric paints directly to dry fabric without pre-wetting.

Each of the projects illustrated below will require:

  • 1+ kids (Dad optional). Dress ‘em up in old clothes - the paints are non-toxic, but they will permanently color any fabric
  • Jacquard White Silk Tie (Item #7899039)
  • Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow - various colors in ½ oz. squeeze bottles (available in the Dye-Na-Flow exciter pack) or in 2.25 oz. jars.
  • Jacquard Lumiere #550 True Gold (for Metallic Shapes Tie)
  • Jacquard Silk Salt (for Salt Technique)
  • 3 — 1” sponge brushes
  • Eye droppers or applicators bottles for paint application (optional)
  • Spray bottle with water (optional)
  • Plastic for covering work surface
  • Iron and an old towel (pressing cloth) for heat setting the fabric paint

Gather your supplies, prepare the work surface and simply add the kids!

Salt Effect Technique

The salt effect technique creates a delicate, pebbly-looking design.

McKenna used:

  • Dye-Na-Flow 811 Violet
  • Dye-Na-Flow 815 Cerulean Blue
  • Dye-Na-Flow 822 Sulfur Green
  • 2 oz. pack of Jacquard Silk Salt
  1. Spray the tie until it is thoroughly wet (or leave dry for darker colors).
  2. Dip a sponge brush into the Dye-Na-Flow and dab on the tie or apply colors directly from squeeze bottle.The colors will flow into each other blending into new colors right before your eyes (make sure each section of the tie is the same “wetness” as you paint to ensure uniform color absorption).
  3. Sprinkle the silk salt randomly over the tie and let sit for a few hours.
  4. When you can see a pattern created by the salt, brush it off. When the tie is dry, iron (silk setting) the tie for 3 minutes to “heat set” the fabric paint. You may want to use a press cloth to protect the iron and pressing surface from any possible paint transfer.
  5. After heat setting, gently hand wash tie to remove residual salt and lay flat to dry. Iron when dry. We recommend dry-cleaning only for the finished ties.

Sun Printing Technique

The sun printing technique uses items placed onto the painted silk to create a “resist” (area that does not totally absorb the paint). You can use a variety of items to create the resist shapes. The project illustrated used zinc washers. You could use washers of different sizes, leaves, sticks, marbles and so on. Make sure your workspace will receive a couple of hours of direct sunlight.

McKenna used:

  • Dye-Na-Flow 801 Sun Yellow
  • Dye-Na-Flow 803 Bright Orange
  • Dye-Na-Flow 809 Magenta
  1. Spray the tie until it is thoroughly wet (or leave dry for darker colors).
  2. Dip a sponge brush into the Dye-Na-Flow colors and dab on the tie (we recommend working in segments with this technique).
  3. For each section, lay the washers down randomly, or in a pattern if desired, and let dry.
  4. Fold the tie inside the pressing cloth to protect the iron and pressing surface from paint transfer. Iron (Silk setting) the tie for 3 minutes to “heat set” the fabric paint.
  5. After heat setting, gently hand wash tie to remove residual fabric paint and lay flat to dry. Iron when dry. We recommend dry-cleaning only for the finished ties.

Metallic Shapes Technique

The purely paint technique requires a small bowl for mixing paints. McKenna used:

  • Dye-Na-Flow 826 mixed with Lumiere 552 Bright Gold (Dye-Na-Flow to Lumiere ratio is 2:1)
  • Dye-Na-Flow 820 Emerald Green
  • Dye-Na-Flow 8I3 Turquoise

You may find that you get an interesting outline effect if you apply the Dye-Na-Flow/Lumiere mixture first and paint over it. Applying the mixture over the Dye-Na-Flow paint softens the edges.

  1. Dab the paint onto the tie in any manner from little dots to bold shapes and let it air dry.
  2. Heat set and finish as recommended before.