Marbling On Fabric

Supplies Needed:

DEKA-PRINT Textile Screening Ink
Aluminum Sulfate
Carrageenan or Metho-Cel
Cotton or Silk Fabric
Photographic Tray
Acrylic Screen Paints
Eyedroppers
Pint Jars or Plastic Containers
Newspaper Strips
Paper Towels

Art Fabric has always been a passion of mine. I love all things Surface Design and attended The Manhattan School of Printing for Silkscreen and Photo-Offset. I've touched on just about all forms of Fiber Art (except actually weaving it). Marbling (or marbleizing) falls under the Bookbinders Art, as it was used for the endpapers of very expensive books. Now Marbling is seen in Art Quilting, a must have for the Landscape and Kaleidoscope Quilt.

This is a good project for the week-end because the fabric must be pre-treated in an alum solution (aluminum sulfate). Use 1 gallon of soft water to 3/4 cup of alum, mix well and soak your fabric making sure you squeeze out the excess solution. Hang the fabric to dry with as few creases as possible, just let it drip dry. Do this a day ahead of time, not too much longer than that because this can weaken the fabric. Do not touch treated fabric with wet hands (this will cause weak spots the paint may appear faded in those spots). You may iron the treated fabric if it is badly wrinkled (not too hot).

Mixing The Paints

DEKA-PRINT Textile Screening Ink is what I use and the most cost effective too. This is where your little jars come in handy, fill a quarter of the way up with paint; then add an equal amount of water. Your going for a milk consistency. What you want is for the paint to disperse on the surface of the gel, nice and evenly (also not too fast). You don't want the paint to drop to the bottom, be splotchy or disperse too fast. Its a delicate balance, only add a couple of drops of water at a time.

Mixing The Gel

To mix 1 gallon of gel, you'll need 3 - 4 Tablespoons of Metho-Cell OR 2 Teaspoons of Carrageenan. If you have Hard Water you'll need to add a Teaspoon of Calgon or Metaphos. You can't be in a rush when you do this, or you'll wind up with a bunch of glop. Gradually add the powdered gel, stirring vigorously for about 5 minutes. Let it stand about 10 minutes. If your using Metho-Cel add a Teaspoon or two of Amomnia, mix well, let stand 1 hour and add a Teaspoon of White Vinagar (5%). I like to let the gel sit overnight.

Make-Ready

Have a garbage bag, paper towels, 3 inch wide strips of newspaper and have an idea of what the work-flow will be. Once you lay your fabric down on the paint/gel, you'll need to rinse off the fabric. If you don't rinse well, when you go to iron the fabric, it may turn black. It is also easier to have a friend help you but if not you'll need sinshi sticks (Japanese fabric stretching sticks) or a piece of acrylic to stretch the shirt over.

Tray, Frame or Kiddie Pool

You need a tray or container large enough to marble whatever it is you'd like to and get a work flow going. I use a 25" x 22" plastic photography tray (perfect for Fat Quarters used in quilting). Others use a kiddie pool, wooden frame with a plastic liner in it and throw-away aluminum pans. For the tray I use, I need at least 2 gallons of gel. So you may want to bear that in mind before you get started.