Silk Scarves

Larry01

Larry01

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The Artful Framer
Hi All,

I am framing quite a lot of scarves using DCO. I would love to see DCO silks others have done? I find most framers here stitch or stretch over foam. I have been leaving the edges visible and they are not straight. I am not 100% sure if this look is correct or if I should be getting straighter edges with DCO. Im not sure how I could get them straighter due to the silk not being square itself, but if there is a trick to get them straighter with DCO please let me know! Here are a few I have done, Im open to feedback! Apologies for the reflections, any tips on taking photos with reduced reflections is welcome too! thanks
 

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We do lots of silk scarves and shawls (shawls with geometric designs can be a beast, lol).

Squaring up silks is a game of diminishing returns and your one silk with the squares is about as good as you can get.

We use two people on opposite sides when doing the final tweaks, making adjustments with the acrylic laying on the silk and manipulating the edges by sliding our gloved fingers between the acrylic and the silk - on one side the person pulls, on the other side the person holds. The more central areas of the silk will usually square up at the same time. We do this wearing gloves.
 
cvm said:
We do lots of silk scarves and shawls (shawls with geometric designs can be a beast, lol).

Squaring up silks is a game of diminishing returns and your one silk with the squares is about as good as you can get.

We use two people on opposite sides when doing the final tweaks, making adjustments with the acrylic laying on the silk and manipulating the edges by sliding our gloved fingers between the acrylic and the silk - on one side the person pulls, on the other side the person holds. The more central areas of the silk will usually square up at the same time. We do this wearing gloves.
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Thanks. I’m a solo framer so the fiddling with the edges can be very frustrating and fittings take a lot longer than I’d like! Do your customers like the ‘natural’ edge or often ask for stitching?
 
You usually get a "natural" edge whether you stitch or not. Most times, getting the edge straight means distorting the image.
 
If your silk scarf has a hemmed border that's slightly thicker than the fabric, you may be able to keep the edges straight by placing a 2-ply matboard backer under it. Trim the board to fit just inside the hem and assemble as usual with a padded fabric background.

The backer is intended to hold the hemmed edges straight from behind the scarf. It doesn't always work, due to variations in the silk and its hem, and it will take a bit of fiddling to center the scarf over the 2-ply backer.

But it's worth a try.
Silk Scarf with 2-ply Backer.webp
 
It's just a theory, but wouldn't assembling this starting with the glazing in the frame (face down), then arranging the scarf on it (also face down) using the static charge to assist. Then applying the fabric/batting covered mount?

I had a small Rauschenberg on silk that was originally sold in an acrylic box using DCO. The box needed replacement, and getting the silk to play nice was impossible inside the recess of the box. It ended up being a less than hoped for compromise. I thought of this reading this thread, and the thought of putting the silk in the box first occurred to me.

BTW, Larry01, part of the charm is the inherent irregularity. It means that they are done by hand.
 
I have no advice to offer as to the technical aspects of your project.

However, I do have to commend your spelling. I don't know what they're teaching in schools nowadays, but it galls me that simple stuff seems to be left out. I bet if you asked 1000 under 30s to spell the plural of scarf, the majority would say "well scarfs, of course!"...
 
Dammit Rick...you beat me to it again!

Scarf is also a verb: "Don't scarf your food!' "See how he scarfs his food?"
 
We could also explore how many younguns take things out of context and make a capital case out of them...

:faintthud:
 
Jim Miller said:
If your silk scarf has a hemmed border that's slightly thicker than the fabric, you may be able to keep the edges straight by placing a 2-ply matboard backer under it. Trim the board to fit just inside the hem and assemble as usual with a padded fabric background.

The backer is intended to hold the hemmed edges straight from behind the scarf. It doesn't always work, due to variations in the silk and its hem, and it will take a bit of fiddling to center the scarf over the 2-ply backer.

But it's worth a try.
View attachment 52487
Click to expand...
Thanks Jim, I will give it a go. I have not been using a fabric background, maybe that’s my problem? My layers are acrylic, scarf, batting, matboard, fluted plastic.
 
wpfay said:
It's just a theory, but wouldn't assembling this starting with the glazing in the frame (face down), then arranging the scarf on it (also face down) using the static charge to assist. Then applying the fabric/batting covered mount?

I had a small Rauschenberg on silk that was originally sold in an acrylic box using DCO. The box needed replacement, and getting the silk to play nice was impossible inside the recess of the box. It ended up being a less than hoped for compromise. I thought of this reading this thread, and the thought of putting the silk in the box first occurred to me.

BTW, Larry01, part of the charm is the inherent irregularity. It means that they are done by hand.
Click to expand...
This is how I assemble, once you pull one area, the other area shifts but the static charge does help it not to move too much.
I agree, I prefer that you can see it is a scarf and not a print. I had a few Grayson Perry scarves stitched years ago and at a glance, you really can’t tell if it’s a print or scarf and there are pull lines.
 
David Waldmann said:
I have no advice to offer as to the technical aspects of your project.

However, I do have to commend your spelling. I don't know what they're teaching in schools nowadays, but it galls me that simple stuff seems to be left out. I bet if you asked 1000 under 30s to spell the plural of scarf, the majority would say "well scarfs, of course!"...
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I’m well over 30, maybe that’s why! 😊
 
We always use fabric between the scarf and concentric layers of batting.
 
When I do DCO for silk scarves, they are never completely straight. I always advise the customer of that. When you make the matborders a little larger, it is less obvious.
Having a perfectly square frame that close to the scarf, emphasizes the non straightness of the scarf more.
 
cvm said:
We always use fabric between the scarf and concentric layers of batting.
Click to expand...
Can I ask what fabric you use? Do you wrap it completely over the the matboard or just cut to size, in-between the batting and silk?
 
Larry01 said:
Can I ask what fabric you use? Do you wrap it completely over the the matboard or just cut to size, in-between the batting and silk?
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We use unbleached muslin which we wash on a quick cycle with no detergent. We ‘stretch’ the fabric over the batting/board and secure it to the back of the board.
 
cvm said:
We use unbleached muslin which we wash on a quick cycle with no detergent. We ‘stretch’ the fabric over the batting/board and secure it to the back of the board.in terms of the backing, it’s always the the fabric visible? I leave a good 40mm boarder, showing the matboard. I do like that I can add a bit more colour with the matboard
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As I haven’t been using fabric, I have the matboard visible, roughly 40mm. Do you show the edges? Due to the cream fabric boarder, does that limit design options? I feel that fabric will help so I’ll give it a try this week on a few silks I’m doing.
 
Larry01 said:
Thanks Jim, I will give it a go. I have not been using a fabric background, maybe that’s my problem? My layers are acrylic, scarf, batting, matboard, fluted plastic.
Click to expand...
Jim Miller said:
If your silk scarf has a hemmed border that's slightly thicker than the fabric, you may be able to keep the edges straight by placing a 2-ply matboard backer under it. Trim the board to fit just inside the hem and assemble as usual with a padded fabric background.

The backer is intended to hold the hemmed edges straight from behind the scarf. It doesn't always work, due to variations in the silk and its hem, and it will take a bit of fiddling to center the scarf over the 2-ply backer.

But it's worth a try.
View attachment 52487
Click to expand...
Sorry Jim, one more question, in terms of fabric does it have to be archival fabrics? I saw in the DCO book you used felt but couldn’t see if a certain type or conservation fabric must be used. Are coloured fabrics possible? Thank you!
 
Sorry, me again… I need some urgent help!

I'm framing a Joan Miró silk that I purchased myself, and a customer is buying it framed. I just measured it and it's very uneven and not square. The sides are 850mm, the top is 890mm, and the bottom is 880mm.

Do you think a DCO (40mm all around) will look totally odd? It was purchased from the official Miró store, which says it's 850 x 850, but as we all know, they're never truly square. That said, I've never worked with a scarf that varies this much across all four sides.

Will it just end up looking like a slightly more portrait layout or ridiculous? Or would you suggest a different approach?
 
This quote that comes to mind is:
“We are not magicians” Vivian Kistler.
Work with what you’ve got. It will look fine.
 
wpfay said:
This quote that comes to mind is:
“We are not magicians” Vivian Kistler.
Work with what you’ve got. It will look fine.
Click to expand...
ha I agree, the pickle that I am in is that I have purchased the silk and they want to buy it framed. I basically just explained the nature of silk and that it is what it is, but I am not sure how this one will actually turn out with its irregularities. Is there a better method or should I DCO and hope for the best? The scarf is about $400, nothing crazy. The client just wants it to 'look good'. Wondering If I should DCO with no visible edges, hiding them under the rebate?
 
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I think centering it on 950mm or so will look just fine.
 
cvm said:
I th`
cvm said:
I think centering it on 950mm or so will look just fine.
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I was was going to give it a 40mm boarder but maybe a 50 or 60 like you said will make it appear less awkward. It is an abstract without any hard boarder lines in the silk design which also helps. Thank you for that reassurance! I will solider on with lots of swearing from my work room no doubt.
Click to expand...
 
wpfay said:
It's just a theory, but wouldn't assembling this starting with the glazing in the frame (face down), then arranging the scarf on it (also face down) using the static charge to assist. Then applying the fabric/batting covered mount?
Click to expand...
I got to put this theory to practice today with a 34" X 34" silk scarf, and I was well pleased with the results, and the ease in getting the scarf where I wanted it.
Using the static in the arcylic to hold the scarf in place worked like a charm, and only had to do a quick adjustment one time. It is a coldish clear day and the static levels were higher than normal, but that seemed to help.
 
wpfay said:
I got to put this theory to practice today with a 34" X 34" silk scarf, and I was well pleased with the results, and the ease in getting the scarf where I wanted it.
Using the static in the arcylic to hold the scarf in place worked like a charm, and only had to do a quick adjustment one time. It is a coldish clear day and the static levels were higher than normal, but that seemed to help.
Click to expand...
The one time static is awesome! I build the package face down. I once cleaned the acrylic and lost a lot of charge, it took so much longer.
 
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