How to make silk paper and use it in wet felting

Silk paper is very easy to make and cuts into any shape you want so it makes a good embellishment in wet felting.  The sample above shows just silk paper shapes on merino wool, but of course you can mix silk paper shapes with other embellishments.

There are a few different ways to make silk paper but here's a simple one.

You will need:

• newspaper (or whatever absorbent paper you have to hand)
• 2 pieces of net (such as tutu net) - in this tutorial the pieces of net are 50 x 40cm (20" x 15")
• a piece of heavyweight plastic larger than the net (perhaps cut from an old parcel bag)
• wallpaper paste (or carboxymethyl cellulose granules, aka CMC, for archival quality textile work)
• container to mix the paste in
• a mister spray bottle containing warm water and half a teaspoon of dish-washing liquid
• a small sponge
• silk fibres such as: tops, noil, mawata hankies, throwsters waste

Make up 500ml (just under a pint) of wallpaper paste following the instructions on the packet - this will be more than you need to make a small sample, but it will keep for another day if you cover it tightly.

Cover a work surface with several layers of newspaper then place the piece of plastic on top.  Lay the piece of net on top of the plastic.

Make a layer of silk fibres, in the colour of your choice, on top of the net - don't go right to the edge of the net but leave 5-10 cms (2-4") of net showing all around. 

Make a second layer of silk fibres on top of the first layer ensuring that the fibres run in a different direction to those on the first layer.

You don't have to lay the fibres neatly - you can put them exactly as you wish.

Here's a close-up view of the fibres on the second layer.

Carefully place the second piece of net over the fibres and in line with the piece of net underneath the fibres.  Then spray the silk, through the net, with the water containing a little dish-washing soap.  When the silk fibres are saturated, use a small sponge to remove as much water as possible.  Check the reverse side for dry-spots.

Apply wallpaper paste liberally to the silk fibres, through the net, to both sides - either use a small sponge or a large soft paintbrush.

Use your fingers to really work the paste into the silk fibres on both sides for a couple of minutes then, starting in the centre, push any excess paste away until it's on the plastic and not on the net .

Leave the silk paper between the pieces of net to peg it up to dry.  Protect the area beneath the silk paper with a drip tray or newspaper because it's very hard to clean up!

 

When the silk paper is dry, carefully peel the netting away.  Don't worry if you can see the pattern of the netting on the paper as it will disappear during felting. 

You can cut shapes out of the silk paper freehand or you can trace shapes onto the paper side of freezer paper then iron the silk paper to the waxy side of the freezer paper using a dry iron on medium heat for 2-3 seconds.  Use baking paper underneath and on top to protect the iron and ironing board. Gently press - don't move the iron back and forth.  Let it cool.  When you've cut out your shapes, gently peel the silk away from the freezer paper.

When you're trying out a new technique it's a good idea to make a small sample so that any problems can be easily corrected.

The following instructions presume basic felt making knowledge, so if you've never made felt before, please see our free tutorial 'how to make flat felt'

Four layers of blue merino wool and a partial layer of white merino wool were used to make this small sample - we didn't worry about neat edges as the sole purpose of making the sample was to try out the application of silk paper shapes.

After the merino wool was wetted and flattened, the silk paper shapes were placed on top then wetted through a piece of net. The felt was made with gentle agitation on both sides until the silk had been trapped by the wool fibres,  then worked until it was firm enough.

The merino wool fibres will migrate right through the silk paper and if you think the result looks dull, you can shave the surplus fluff away from the silk using a one-blade razor.  Be careful to not abrade the silk - use a very light touch.

It was useful making this sample because we found that the dark red silk 'bled' a little and that will be worth remembering for future use!