Handpainted Ties, how's it done?

[fedoralover]

Yes, I know, "by hand". but does anyone know the kind of paint and the process to do them? I've picked up about 10 of them now and I'm intrigued by the color and the swirls some of them have and have wondered what all goes into making one. Also, is there a way to clean them without taking the paint off? Seems that dry cleaning fluid, like naptha would take the paint off.

Here's a pic of one I just got. It's a bit bright but I like it.

fedoralover

 

[LaMedicine]

There are some chemical dyes that you can use at home and hand paint fabrics. If you go to handcraft stores, they probably carry them, and you can check how to treat fabrics painted with such dyes.

As an industry. This isn't about ties, but many kimono, in fact, all formal women's kimono are hand dyed. There are a number of hand dye methods, but the most popular by far is yuzen, and ties hand dyed here are usually dyed by the yuzen method, too. Basically, the pattern is traced onto a white fabric with blue plant extract which can later be washed out. Then, the outline is traced by a special starch to make a "dyke" to prevent the colors from getting mixed up. Then the areas that are to be illustrated are covered over with starch and the entire fabric is brush dyed with base/background color. This way, the starch will protect the area to be painted, leaving it white. After the background dye is dried, the fabric is steamed from 30-60 mins to fix the dye, then the protective starch is washed off, but the dyke starch is left alone, and the fabric dried. The white areas are filled in with respective colors (mostly chemical dyes these days, but traditional plant extracts and other mineral pigments may be used, both for base color and the patterns) When the hand painting is done, the fabric is put through steam again to fix the dye, the border starch washed off, and the fabric dried, checked for flaws, corrected if anything is amiss, and sent out as the final product.
Putting the hand dyed/hand painted fabric through steam, not chemical fixing, is the standard method of fixing the dye onto the fabric with hand painted products. Threads dyed with plant extracts or natural mineral extracts are fixed chemically with ash or mud among other things, what is used depending on the kind of dye.

Incidentally, silk can be washed gently in cool-luke warm water with a neutral detergent, or detergent specifically for silk (there are such detergents) if you take great care. No hot iron, though. If you are worried about the dye coming out, wash an inconspicuous corner to see how well the fabric will take the treatment before trying anything.

 

[Kassia]

Check out the Dharma Trading web site, they have all sorts of dyes for different things... Dyeing and painting fabric depends on the type of fabric..
But for the most part you can only dye/paint natural fibers..
Silk, cotton, rayon, wool, etc..
You can also paint with ink as well as dye... But you need to treat the fabric first and know the fiber content of the item before you start..

 

[daizawaguy]

O sensei, how is this one done!? and...can I wash them??

 

[daizawaguy]

And...is this a real kimono patch?

 

[LaMedicine]

daizawaguy

The first one coould be stencil dye rather than the design drawn free hand--stencil dye is a method of hand dye, as well as free hand illustration. With stencil dye, patterns for each colors are cut out, and hand brush dyed. You should be able to hand wash it, or use a net if you want to machine wash. You should have received an explanation of how to wash along with the jeans, as most manufactures will attach an explanatory tag with specially treated fabrics.

The second one, I can't really say unless I see the fabric in person, but from the pic, it looks more like woven fabric rather than dye. Which is it? Also, does the panel feel, soft or stiff? If it's soft, then it is kimono fabric, if stiff, then most likely obi fabric. If it's soft and dye pattern, then it definitely is kimono fabric, but the pattern itself is a bit unusual for a regular kimono, it is more likely as a Nihon Buyo--Japanese dance-- costume, or a juban--kimono underwear--rather than a kimono. If it is from a kimono, then the pattern is probably part of a much larger design. The pattern's also possible as an obi if the fabric is woven and stiff.

 

[Feraud]

There is another member who is interested in trying to create his own painted tie. There was discussion about paints to use on silk. It might have been in the Show us your ties thread.

Also, is there a way to clean them without taking the paint off? Seems that dry cleaning fluid, like naptha would take the paint off.

Here's a pic of one I just got. It's a bit bright but I like it.

fedoralover

I have cleaned a couple of painted ties in Oxyclean with no ill results.
That is a nice looking tie. I never shy away from a bright tie.
Here are a few of my painted ties..