Silk Painting How to

Open Frame

A quarter inch groove is cut around the edge of the frame. The silk painting is tensioned and held in place by a cord that is pushed into the groove – much like a screen window. This kind of framing can be used as an interior frame to a larger more ornate frame.

Banners

Presenting a silk painting as a banner is a lightweight option and can be used for large works. The paintings vibrate a bit in moving air and the texture of the silk is readily seen. The obvious disadvantage is that there is no glass to protect it from dirt and light. By planning ahead, a rod pocket can be sewn to the top and bottom edges of the painting, then inserting a dowel rod, and attaching a cord to the top dowel and hanging it. There are also lightweight aluminum rod systems that can be attached to the top and bottom edges, eliminating the need to sew a pocket.  (However, these aluminum rods are not very decorative.) The side edges of the painting can be "serged" on a sewing machine or a line of gutta can be applied down the edge, trimming any excess silk close to the gutta line.

Wrap-mounting silk on stretched canvas with acrylic medium

Materials:

• Stretched canvas, with no staples showing on sides. Your silk must be large enough to wrap around the sides and back of the canvas. 
• Liquitex or other brand acrylic matte medium
• 1" or larger bristle brush, depending on the size of your piece. Cheap hardware-store brushes are fine for this.

Note that this forms a semi-permanent bond between the silk and the canvas - try out on a scrap piece of silk first!

The medium comes as a thick liquid or gel that can be thinned with water to creamy consistency. It must be thin enough to penetrate the silk. To minimize air bubbles, I do a double layer of very thin medium - one layer directly on the canvas and another on top of the silk that will go through to the canvas. The medium is white but will dry clear.
The painted or dyed silk must be set first.

1. Place the canvas face up on a box or some other means of elevating it off the table. This will allow for easier access to the sides and back.
2. Brush thinned medium over top and sides of canvas.
3. Lay painted silk on canvas in approximate placement. As long as the medium stays wet, the silk can be moved around.
4. Brush water over the silk. This makes it easier to move around and helps the medium penetrate. Manipulate silk into its correct position, smoothing out air bubbles. Your hands are better than the brush for this. Yes, it's messy!
5. Starting at the center and going to the edges, brush medium onto the top and sides of silk, again smoothing out bubbles as you go. Press firmly to ensure adhesion.
6. Brush medium onto the back of the stretched canvas (about 1/2" is sufficient).
7. Smooth silk around sides and onto back of canvas.
8. Add some extra medium to corner areas and fold corners so that visible folds will be on the top and bottom of the finished piece when hung, not the sides.
9. Leave to dry. It may take several hours but you can speed it up with a blow dryer.
10. Optional: When all is dry I either [i] spray with a UV protectant varnish (intended for acrylic or oil paintings) [ii] spray with a UV fabric protector (intended for outdoor fabric furniture), or [iii] coat with a thin layer of acrylic varnish medium.

Tips:

Periodically spritz the silk with water to keep everything wet while you work.
During the drying period, check often to catch any stray bubbles that may pop up. Use extra water and medium to smooth down pop ups.
If you discover a bubble after everything is dry, re-saturate the area with water and firmly rub more medium into the bubble with a finger. If this doesn't work, take an exacto knife and make a small slit in the bubble. Through this slit, get some medium between the canvas and the silk and spread around. Try a tiny paintbrush, paintbrush handle, paper clip or even a pin. Press and smooth the bubble into this new medium. Unless you had a large gash in your silk, the repair will be barely noticeable! (Been there, done that, still sold it.)
If you must remove the adhered silk entirely from the canvas for any reason, it can be pulled off after thoroughly saturating the whole piece with water. The silk will be stiff with medium but can be re-adhered with new medium when wet. It may be possible to remove the medium from the silk with dry cleaning, but I've never tried this.
Reduran or other exfoliating cleanser will remove the gunk from your hands.