Making Silk Paper and a Simple Journal
Date: Thursday, August 26, 2004
Time: 9am – 4:30pm
Instructor: Traci Bunkers
Cost: $110

In this class I'll introduce you to the wonderful world of making silk paper and what you can do with it. Once you learn this simple process, you'll go crazy and become obsessed with wanting to make all of your own paper out of silk. Silk paper is made from unspun silk fiber that is layered, and then “fused” together to become a sturdy and flexible paper with a delicate look. When making it, you can embed fibers, leaves, colored papers, threads—anything flat that can get wet. The embedded items show through in an ethereal and mysterious way!

Silk paper has many uses, including clothing, containers, small bags, journal pages and journal covers. It can be altered just like paper: it can be embellished, sewn, collaged, cut, and even have images transferred onto it! After we make the silk paper, we'll embellish it in some of those ways and turn it into a journal cover for a single-signature journal. (To save time, you'll prepare the simple signature ahead of time and bring it with you. The easy directions will be in the supply list.) By the end of the class, you'll have a completely handmade journal. For more information, you can visit my website at www.bonkersfiber.com.

Supply list:  

Here's what you MUST bring:  

approx 2 oz of silk top or approx 1 oz of silk hankies (both of these are spinning fiber, not fabric). The silk top can be tussah silk (honey brown) or bombyx (white) Or a combination. It takes a little under 1 oz to make a sheet from silk top. The silk hankies are a spinning fiber—not something to blow your nose on! It takes a half oz to make a sheet from silk hankies. No matter which you get, you can get natural(undyed). I will supply hand-dyed silk to put on the top layer for color. (See the photo of the journal I made as a sample for the class.)  

An 18” x 36” piece of fiberglass screen. You can get this at the hard-ware store. It's black and flexible.

1 or 2 cheapy 1” brushes.

Liquid Matte medium. We will be diluting this 1 to 1 with water, so you just need a small bottle.

Paper already cut for the signature. (See info below on this.) Several strands of strong yarn or cord, about a yard long each, to sew your signature together with. I used 2 strands. This should be smooth or it's too hard to pull through the holes! You also don't want it too heavy for the same reason. About the weight of carpet warp or embroidery floss.

Hair dryer or heat gun to speed up the drying process.

Scissors and needle the appropriate size for the yarn/cord you will use to sew your signature.

Awl—I use a clay tool that is called a needle tool. You can get this pretty cheap at an art supply store that carries clay tools.

Optional:

When you are deciding what optional things to bring, keep in mind that you will be using the silk paper as a paper—so you can collage, stamp, etc on it like you would any other paper.

Beads to tie onto the ends of the yarn, charms, embellishments.

If you want to sew onto your paper, bring decorative thread and appropriately sized needle.

Stamps & stamps pads or fancy gel pens to decorate.

Any images you want to collage on or sew on. (The hand image on the sample project was transferred onto fabric, then I sewed it on.)  

Anything you want to embed in the silk paper: threads, paper bits, confetti, leaves, fibers, yarns. It is embedded, but you can see it!  

Here's what you must prepare before you come and bring  

A signature! Decide what paper you want to use for the inside. We are making journals about 6” X 8”. So cut your paper about 12” x 8”. We are using small signatures, so don't make your folded signature thicker than a 1/4”. Fold each page with a bone folder, then put them inside of each other to form a signature. If you notice the inside pages are sticking out farther than the outside pages, you can carefully trim them using a steel ruler and en exacto. This may be necessary so that the inside pages don't stick out past the cover.

Optional: One piece of 140# watercolor paper 12” x 8”. This will be glued to the inside of the silk paper to make the cover stiffer. Fold it in half with a bone folder.

Note: I will teach you how to make the covers with a stiff buckram inside. If you do this, you don't need the watercolor paper. If you don't want the buckram inside, you will need the watercolor paper.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at Bonkers@bonkersfiber.com! Don't hesitate to ask!

Also, if any of you are driving and want to lug a sewing machine. . . . you can use it to do decorative stitching and to sew your silk paper cover to the watercolor paper (That's what I did for the sample.) But, those of you who can't don't fear! You can make this without a sewing machine!

©2003-2004, ART Unraveled. All rights reserved. No content may be reproduced from this website without written permission.