dyeing simple clavi

[Marcus Mummius]

Salve,

I want to dye simple red clavi on white woolen fabric (for a tunic).

Could this be done with textile paint? How can I get the clavi nice and straight without having the dye/paint seep into the fabric at the edges of the lines?

Vale,

[Crispvs]

Jef,

I used fabric paint on mine (having been told by a very reliable friend that part of an actual tunic had been found with painted clavi) and the results I got were quite good.

I very carefully followed a single warp thread all the way down, colouring it as I went. Having done that I selested another warp thread about an inch from the first one and coloured that in the same way having thus defined the two edged of the clavus I then simply filled in the interior with colour, taking greater care when I got close to original lines so as not to go over them. I repeated the process for the other clavus and then did the same for the back of the tunic. It took me three nights in all to do but I was quite pleased with the result.

Crispvs

[Marcus Mummius]

Thanks Crispus! So it can be done

What kind of paint did you use? Do you have a link so I can see what I have to look for.

Kind regards,
Jef

[Magnus]

I'd like to know as well Crispvs or will any old fabric paint do? Did you also mask off the edges with tape to give you a nice even line?

[M. Demetrius]

Magnus,
I wouldn't suggest tape. I've tried that for a theatre prop project, and what happens is that the tape doesn't always follow the weave lines, and the paint tends to wick under, following the fibers. That wicking is reduced if you don't use tape. It's a difficult paint job, but in the end, it yields a much better product if you just follow the weave.

Tedious, like stacking marbles.

[Magnus]

Ok. I wasn't sure about the taping method.

What paint did you use dave?

[M. Demetrius]

I used plain house paint on the stage prop garment, but for something that would need to be laundered often and actually worn, I'd use craft store fabric paint (not the "Puff Paint"). It's water based, and can be thinnned down some so it's not so stiff when it dries.

Very tedious, though, because it's permanent once it's touched the fabric. A mistake means you will paint a wider clavus, basically. They say it's washable while wet, but -- it will leave a mark that will not come out, and the spot tends to get bigger, like in the Cat in the Hat until you might as well just dye the whole piece of cloth.

Tape would probably work if you used an airbrush, though, and masked off all the areas that you didn't want paint on. Have not tried it for that purpose, but reason says it would work. People airbrush cloth all the time, and it's color fast.

[Magnus]

I think my grandma uses fabric paints. I'll see if she has some appropriate red, or that maroonish colour.

[Primvs Pavlvs]

I found that sewing them into the cloth actually produces a very convencing effect. Most reenactors I have seen sew them onto the cloth. I cut the cloth then sewed mine in on my red linen tunic with black clavi. Pesonally I think they look much more correct than painting them.

[Tarbicus]

Pesonally I think they look much more correct than painting them.

How would you know? You're not that old!

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Pesonally I think they look much more correct than painting them.

How would you know? You're not that old!

Trust me Jim after this past year I certainly feel that old. I never realized how much stress actually does age a person.

The painted ones I have seen always make the cloth look stiff in the painted sections leaving it looking fake.

Have you seen my tunic with the sewn in clavi?

[Tarbicus]

Have you seen my tunic with the sewn in clavi?

Got a link to a pic (I probably have at some time)? I'd love to see it for sure, though.

[Marcus Mummius]

Pesonally I think they look much more correct than painting them.

How would you know? You're not that old!

The painted ones I have seen always make the cloth look stiff in the painted sections leaving it looking fake.

Have you seen my tunic with the sewn in clavi?

How did you sew them into the tunic? Perhaps there is a dye out there that doesn't make the fabric stiff? I always thought that they'd be more realistic if they were part of the fabric than when they are sewn onto it... But I'm very much open to change.

But I'm very curious to see how your tunic looks! Please, do show a picture!

Vale,

[Primvs Pavlvs]

I will try to get a pic tonight!

[Graham Sumner]

Hello Crispus

I used fabric paint on mine (having been told by a very reliable friend that part of an actual tunic had been found with painted clavi) and the results I got were quite good.

Does your reliable friend have a name and a reference for this nugget of information?

I have heard of resist dyeing as a process possibly used for some of the late 'coptic' designs so I wonder if this is what is actually meant.

Graham.