Yeah, cheesy I know... but it kinda summarizes this post.
Like I mentioned in the post minutes before this one, I have technically received my first special order about a month ago, for Father's Day. My cousin wanted something special for her dad and I was willing to try anything. Previously that week, there had been a Father's Day sale at Dharma Trading and I had ordered a few ties, though I had never painted on one before. But like anything that you order, you need it sooner then you receive it. So after talking wistfully about making a tie for her, it just so happened that while we were looking for something to jump out at us, something DID.
A whole row of white silk ties at Wal-mart! So we talked it over, and she agreed to let me try. Since I had never done it, and didn't know if it would work we bought two ties.
The best stories are always when you are short on time, thus when I had 48 hours to completely design, dye, set, and let dry, it was crunch time.
The design was pretty straight forward, she had seen my Cars scarf and wanted me to try something similar on the tie. Her father loves Station Wagons, so after looking some up, I was working away with my resist on drawing 1980s Station Wagons side wood and all. Everything went well until the design was all sketched out in resist and it was time to dye, that is when I found out why I cannot just buy clothes at a store. The tie was Stain Resistant! Oh the hilarity!
Every brushstroke I made just sat there in a pool, waiting for me to move the tie and let it run right off. Its very hard to paint something that is Waterproof with Water Based pigments.
I took a few hours to research online for any homemade solutions to make the pigment stay in the fabric. Finally I settled on painting very slowly, creating a very pale tint on the tie. It actually turned out pretty well, and if someone didn't know the story might even think it was completely on purpose.
Right now, I do have the ties I ordered and have tried a little dye on the back of one, and it flows just as easy as the scarves. But if ever I am in a pinch again, I will know what to expect.
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