Name: Jan

Message: We are trying to resist the outline of a giraffe without drawing or painting a hard outline, so we can freehand paint inside on the giraffe with colorful stripes.  We need another way to do this OR, we need to color the resist so we can see the outline better. We are using Versatex screen printing ink to paint the stripes on the Giraffe, and Jacquard Water Based Resist to attempt the outline. An additional problem is that since we have to heat set the Versatex, it is also setting the resist, which does not wash out. Is there an indelible dye we can add to the resist, and how to get the resist out after heat setting the Versatex. 

I think that almost any water-based resist will risk becoming heat-set when you set the Versatex ink. (One exception is another brand of water-based resist called Presist, which is supposed to wash out easily even after being heat-set by ironing.) Instead, I would suggest that you try an entirely different type of resist: use wax. 

Batik wax is a mixture of beeswax, or a synthetic form of wax called microcrystalline wax which is often used as a substitute, with paraffin, which causes the wax to crack, for the characteristic "crackle" lines in batik. Beeswax, when used alone, will resist cracking. Any of these waxes should resist the ink quite well. Be sure that the fabric is absolutely dry before you apply the wax. If you draw lines with a pencil on top of the fabric and completely cover them with wax, they should be protected from the printing ink by the wax, and, ultimately, wash out, after the ink is heat-set and the wax is completely removed. You can apply the wax with a natural-bristle paint brush or with an applicator called a tjanting. After applying the ink, while it's still wet, you could wipe any excess ink off of the surface of the wax.

After you allow the Versatex ink to dry, you can remove the wax and set the ink in one step, by ironing. Personally, I find it a fussy task to try to remove all of the wax by ironing, but you can certainly remove part of it, and you might find it easy enough to complete the wax removal with the iron. You will need to use plenty of absorbent paper on each side of your fabric, to absorb the wax, when you iron the fabric. Use unprinted newsprint paper right next to the fabric, but you can additionally pad this with printed newspapers, as long as the ink is not touching your art work. Change the paper whenever it becomes saturated with melted wax. After removing the bulk of the wax, follow the manufacturers' instructions to be sure that you have provided adequate heat to set the binders in the Versatex Screen Printing Ink. After the ink is fully heat set, you can remove any remaining wax by additional ironing, or by immersing it in boiling water so that the melted wax rises to the top; I prefer to do this with some soap (not detergent) in the water, and I allow the water to cool so that the floating wax solidifies and can be removed without getting into the fabric again.

An alternative to batik wax or beeswax is the hardest grade of soy wax, which is sold for use in making pillar-type candles. Soy wax can be removed by washing it, with lots of detergent to suspend the wax, in very hot water. However, it should respond similarly to beeswax or batik wax when melted with an iron. Soy wax is not quite as good at holding a crisp line when immersed in water or a dyebath, but its ease in removal often entirely makes up for this deficiency, depending on the specific project.

If you want to continue to use a water-based resist instead of wax, you can use almost any fabric paint. Look for colored resists, such as colored water-based "guttas", sold by dye suppliers. (Real gutta is not soluble in water, but instead in organic solvents such as gasoline.) You should heat-set the fabric paint, to make it permanent, before using it as a resist. It will stay in place. Dyes will be completely resisted by any fabric paint that has been heat-set. However, I do not know how the Versatex Screen Printing Ink will act on top of fabric paint. It may flow right on top of it and stay there.

It is possible to color some water-soluble resists by adding a bit of fabric dye. Since you do not want the fabric to be colored, but want to be able to see your water-soluble resist more easily, you could try adding a very small amount of food coloring, which does not permanently dye cotton or rayon. Note, however, that food coloring will dye nylon, silk, and wool, under the right circumstances.

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