The idea of steaming dyed silk in the microwave is certainly not new, but I had just never got round to trying it and I must admit, I was a bit sceptical. After all, I’m used to steaming in a big canning pot over the stove, which can take several hours. But I decided it was finally time to try.
I did a couple of small pleat and wrap shibori scarves to see what would happen…
This is one of the wrapped and dyed scarves, still wet, sitting in a microwave-safe dish. The steaming has to be done while the dye is still wet, otherwise the silk might burn. (For this reason, I think microwaving wouldn’t work on painted scarves, which dry as you’re working). I used 2 small containers to raise the silk off the dish. I don’t know if that was really necessary, but it makes sense to me that it would allow the steam to circulate all around the silk better.
I covered the silk with foil then covered the whole dish with plastic wrap. The plastic keeps the steam in and foil prevents the silk from being dripped on by condensation, which would wash the dyes out. I perforated the plastic in a couple of places to allow the steam to vent and also the foil to ensure good steam circulation.
And I’m ready to go! In my reading about microwave steaming I’ve seen that it can take as little as 2 minutes, but to be safe I went for 6 minutes. It worked! I barely got any excess dye runoff when I rinsed the scarves. I was floored. A few minutes beats a few hours any day of the week! Next, I want to do some tests to see just how little steaming time I can get away with.
And here are the results…
Shibori dyed scarves, 8 x 54 in.
I hope you enjoyed my little experiment…
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Are you sure it is safe to use the foil in the microwave, normally sparks from metal damage the microwaves? Perhaps covering it with cling film eliminates the problem?
I have steamed random dyed scarves in a plastic container in a microwave for about 3 minutes and that works fine too.
Janet – the foil didn’t even get hot – I think the plastic wrap covering gave protection.
When you’ve steamed in the plastic container, how did you prevent drips from condensation falling on the silk and washing the dyes out?
I also wondered about the aluminum foil in a microwave – I always thought metal was unsafe to use, and am happy to hear there was not an explosion! The resulting patterns are beautiful, will this be your shibori dye preferred method?
Robin, I’ve read some articles that have debunked the foil in microwave issue… maybe it’s more of a problem older microwaves? Anyway I had no problems. I’m going to be trying some other materials as well, though. Janet from the previous comment says she doesn’t cover her silk at all for steaming… gonna have to try that too!
Yes this is definitely my favorite shibori technique but I’ll be doing others as well.
Hi Deborah, nice to see you joining the microwaving movement. I’ve done a lot of experimenting with this and when I’m finished I lift up the sodden silk and lay it in a plastic bowl with some plastic wrap. It cook it for 5 mins on medium high and it comes dry out of the tub. Really simple.
Here’s a video I made a while ago demonstrating this where you can see the pot I used.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUDdevpa7ms&list=PLB2A8720EEC44B49A&index=3&feature=plpp_video
Love your scarves Deborah.
Thanks for your comment and the video, Fiona! Going over to check it out now
I’d be very careful about the foil in the microwave, too. I’ve had some arcing from sparks in a microwave when some metal was in it. Also, my nephew accidentally put something metal in, either foil, or metal on a bowl or accidentally left in a spoon, and microwave was sparking like the forth of July, and before my sister could turn off the microwave, it shorted out the whole oven. I’ve known other people to have fires in their microwave. Please be careful.
Imzadi I understand the concerns and I guess everyone’s microwave is different. Mine is quite happy with foil, metal clamps and metal racks. So anyone who isn’t sure if their micro can handle metal should stay away from it.
The containers make sense. I make sure that the silk is not sitting directly on the container as the first one I did got watermarks from sitting in the condensation. so I do it now by either jacking it up or putting kitchen paper underneath.
Your scarves look great.
Tessa you’re right – the silk must be kept away from anything that collects condensation. So many details to think about in this medium that we love…