Rinsing and Sandwiching

My last post showed the painting of the birds and cup with inks and painting medium. After I finish the painting, I press the painted fabric with an iron to set the inks, and then I rinse the fabric in cool water in the sink. Rinsing is an optional step and its purpose is to remove excess painting medium.  I have done some Internet research and found that many people don't bother to rinse after fabric painting.  Some rinse because they are concerned that the painting medium they have used may yellow over time and change the appearance of the painting. Others don't bother rinsing because they have fabric paintings that have been around for a long time that were never rinsed with no ill effects. I sometimes rinse and sometimes don't. If I think rinsing might damage an image, then I don't rinse. If I think the image is safe, then I rinse. I would rather take my chances on yellowing over time than to have to redo the painting.

I'm rinsing in this case because I noticed that the inks looked a little shiny in one area. I have no idea why they look shiny. It might be the color of ink in that area, mixed with the medium, resulted in shiny-ness. Or perhaps I used too much medium?? Not sure???? Anyway,  I thought if I rinsed the fabric then the shiny-ness might go away. But it didn't....So I have decided that the shiny-ness is a desired feature for this piece. Problem solved!

Here is the painted fabric in the sink. I put it in there for a few minutes and then remove it. I roll the wet fabric in a towel to remove water quickly, and then blow dry or iron dry it immediately. Although nothing is supposed to bleed, I fear that leaving water in the fabric a long time is tempting fate and I might get bleeding of the inks. So dry it quickly and no worries!

soaking in the sink

towel drying

My next step is sandwiching and quilting. That will be the next post. Thanks for visiting my blog!