Margilan Silk and Color Part 2

Color Overlays and Collage with Sparse Margilan Silk Fabric, Part 2

© Pat Spark 2019

In this post, I will talk about the next color gamp I made - the Secondary Color Gamp.  I used several versions of secondary colors like orange, purple and green. Again, I crossed the Sparse Margilan silk with 19 micron merino and backed the "sandwich" with black Margilan silk gauze. See Part 1 here: http://sparkfiberarts.blogspot.com/2019/02/margilan-silk-and-color.html

Secondary Color Gamp

This sample also has three layers, like the Primary Color Gamp from Part 1. But the colors are not the same as the first Post. Here I used secondaries. (orange, purple and green)

Layer 1 – Stripes of Sparse Margilan silk that were overlapped along the edges to create an additional color blend.

Layer 2 – Two thin layers of merino fiber, laid out in opposing directions to one another.

Layer 3 – Black Margilan gauze. 

Layer 1 – I used different secondaries:

            Yellow Orange and Orange

            Lilac, Violet and Red Violet

            Subdued Green and Bright Green

The Sparse Margilan silk was laid on top of a thin layer of plastic which was on top of a large piece of shelf grip cloth. To keep the strips in place, they were sprinkled with soapy water and flattened onto the plastic. The soapy water helped them adhere to the plastic. (This trick was learned from the video tutorial of Maria Gladchenko.  http://www.tvfelt.com/shop/artfelt/en/artfelt     It is titled "Art Felt Stole and Bolero")

Layer 2 – I used a variety of different merino tops in the secondary colors.

            Orange and Rust

            Lilac, Violet and Greyed Violet

            Yellow Green and Green

Since I had the space on the Margilan strips, I added Yellow and a Blue Violet, just for fun. 

Before adding Layer 3, I used a trick I learned from Katia Mokeyeva. I sprinkled soapy water on the pile. (See Katia's tutorial on how to handle laying dry fabrics on top of wet wool:

https://www.feuer-und-wasser.com/tutorials) 

Then I covered the wet fiber with net and pushed it down. 

I blotted the wet stack with a dry towel.

Layer 3 - I removed the towel and the net. Then I put the black Margilan gauze over the damp wool, smoothed it into position and re-wet with more soapy water. 

I covered the stack with thin plastic, sprinkled on a little soapy water and used a crumpled plastic bag to rub the surface for about ten minutes. 

Using the two pieces of plastic (the one underneath and the one on top) I gently turned the piece over, sprinkled the plastic surface with soapy water and rubbed this side as well. 

I used a sander for a few minutes on each side of the plastic covered bundle, just so that I was sure the Margilan was attaching to the wool. (NOTE: Use caution with the sander. There is no sand paper, just the vibrating head of sander. It is plugged into a portable Ground Fault Interrupter which will turn off the electricity in case any moisture gets to the motor. The wet piece is covered with a thin, dry piece of plastic. Do not push down hard on the sander as you could get nerve damage in your hands with prolonged use. I barely hold it in place. The first time across the piece I touch the sander to the piece for about 3 seconds in an area, then lift the sander and move it to the next area. The second time through, I turn the sander the opposite direction and hold it in place for about 6 seconds before lifting and moving it. You can use ear plugs or muffs if the noise is too loud for you.) 

I completed the initial felting using the no-roll felting method developed by Nancy Ballesteros of Treetops Colour Harmonies. https://treetopscolours.com.au/roll-felt-scarf/)    To do this, I rolled the plastic covered felt around a towel core.(See above.)

 This photo shows the piece in the process of being rolled on the soft core. 

Then I rolled it in a dry towel and secured it with ties. (Note: I forgot to photograph it with the ties.)

I placed the rolled item into the air fluff cycle of my dryer for 10 minutes. I ran the felt through the dryer twice, rolling it from opposite ends each time. This gets it to just beyond the prefelt stage. I full it by rubbing on the ribbed surface of my table and rolling it from all sides in the shelving material. I continued with these processes, adding hot water, until the felt is complete.

Here is the finished Secondary Color Gamp: 

Secondary Color Gamp- Yellow Orange, Orange, Lilac, Violet, Red Violet, Subdued Green and Bright Green Sparse Margilan crossing Orange, Rust, Lilac, Violet, Greyed Violet, Lime Green, Green, Yellow, Blue Violet 19 micron merino wool.

Detail of Yellow Orange, Orange and Lilac Sparse Margilan crossing Lilac, Violet, Greyed Violet and Lime merino wool fiber. 

Conclusions:

Having the color gamps helps as a resource for my color choices. After looking at them carefully, I have come to the following conclusions (for use in my own work, these don’t have to be concluded by anyone else!).

1. I love the color combinations when the value of the wool hue is similar in value to the Margilan hue, but not in the same color family. For instance, the lilac Margilan over the yellow orange merino and over the lime green merino was really interesting and exciting to me.

2. When I have a darkly valued Margilan hue over a lightly valued merino, I am not very pleased with the resulting look because it is too “spotty” to me. For instance, I don’t like the blue Margilan over the white merino.

3. I do like the lightly colored Margilan hues over the darkly colored merino. For instance the lilac Margilan over the rust merino. 

 

The back side of the Secondary Color Gamp with the black Margilan gauze on the surface. This shows what I think of as the "spotty" look that happens when a lightly colored fiber is under a darkly colored sheer fabric.

I have done many scarves and collars with inclusions, which rely on using a very sheer silk gauze from China to hold down yarns and solid pieces of felt to the surface of a fiber background. I have usually done these in white and black, and then sometimes I dye them afterwards in a light indigo bath. With these, I also prefer to have black fiber on the bottom and white gauze on top. I wrote an article about these in Felt Magazine, Issue 16, 2016 December, titled “Collar Variations”.  (https://www.artwearpublications.com.au/product/back-issue-felt-16/) I am looking forward to my next set of experiments with Margilan silk – capturing inclusions. 

The felt collar with inclusions between the black merino and the white silk gauze done for the article in ArtWear's Felt Magazine. Now I want to experiment with inclusions using various densities of Margilan as the top layer.