Instructions

Fibre Etch, used in the devore process, is a chemical gel which dissolves cellulose fibres such as cotton, linen, raime, rayon and viscose. It does not affect wool, silk or synthetics.

This characteristic allows the product to be used for creating various decorative effects; cut velvet, cut work on linens, scalloped edges, and pulled thread effects in silk/linen blends.

It is always wise to work in a well ventilated area when dealing with any chemical. If you have sensitive skin you may want to wear rubber gloves.

Velvet Instructions

The velvet you choose is very important. It must be a blend with a silk or synthetic backing and a viscose, rayon or cotton pile. We recommend a silk/viscose velvet, as we have experimented with it and know that it works. This velvet comes in white which can easily be dyed any colour with a cold water dye such as Dylon (found at most fabric stores) and black which can be discharged somewhat.

1. Our white velvet can easily be seen through which means that you can draw your pattern on paper rather than on the velvet (which can be difficult). Once your pattern is drawn on paper in a clear dark line, place the velvet pile side down on top of the drawing, tape it in place so it does not shift. This means you will be applying the Fibre Etch to the back of the fabric.
2. You can now apply the Fibre Etch either using the nozzle (which comes with the bottle) or by removing the top and using a paint brush. It can be easier to outline with the nozzle and fill in with the paint brush... this in part depends on your design. It is important to keep the application thin! This is easier with a brush but if you are using the nozzle spead the excess along the line. Too much can affect your final resuts by possibly leaving holes in the backing .
3. Dry the Fibre Etch... some say to use a blow dryer. You may find that on some fabrics the Fibre Etch will "bleed" into areas you do not want it to unless you dry it.
   Note: If you have gotten Fibre Etch on an area where you do not want it simply rinse it off well, the Fibre Etch needs heat to activate the dissolve process. The chemical must be completely dry in order to react.
4. Heat: for the velvet it is recommended to heat process in your dryer rather than with an iron. I have used an iron with acceptable results and the dryer systems effectiveness depends on the heat intensity of the dryer... some are not hot enough. If using an iron it should be set at "silk" regardless of fibre content. Apply the iron to the back of the fabric where the chemical was applied. Be gentle, the chemical area will turn brown which indicates the reaction is occuring.
5. Rinse your fabric out, I rinse in the sink and gently rub the fabric between my palms to remove all the pile. The brown marks will disappear now as the "burnt" fibres are removed. Don't worry about crushing the velvet as it will fluff back up when you tumble it dry.
6. Hang or tumble dry OR dip it into a bucket of dye before you dry.

Devore Velvet and Fibre Etch This piece began as plain white velvet. The floral motif was traced out with Fibre Etch and processed. Afterwards the velvet was dyed with a Dylon cold water dye.

Linen or Cotton Instructions

1. Draw or trace your pattern onto paper first, shade the areas you want to remove. Remember, if the opening is too big you will have problems as the fabric will not be stable... to avoid this you can apply another faric of silk or synthetic behind the linen.
2. Transfer your pattern to your fabric.
3. Sew the pattern at least twice with a straight stitch then using a tight zigzag or a satin stitch. Your second fabric (if you are using one) should be underneath so that you are stitching through both layers. I have an old machine and find I have to stitch the pattern twice with a zigzag as my stitches are not very close. IMPORTANT: Thread must be polyester or silk.
4. Apply the Fibre Etch: I found I had much better results when I used a paint brush for the application. When I used the nozzle I had trouble with the product "bleeding" beyond the stiching and my stiching then came right off. Application need only be a thin layer and only around the perimeter.
5. I let the Fibre Etch dry while I do other things but it can be ironed damp without concern that it will "gunk-up" your iron.
   Iron: The temperature need not be any higher than "wool" setting. The affected fibres will turn brown and as they do they become fragile.
6. I was able to simply remove the affected areas with my fingers and trimmed any remaining bits with small scissors. Rinsing with water will also remove the browned fibres... rinse from the back, particularily if you have applied another fabric to the back. The Fibre Etch will not have affected the silk or synthetic second fabric.

Pulled Thread Instructions

For this you need a fabric such as a silk & linen or cotton blend.

1. Test a sample of the fabric to determine which direction the linen threads run. This is important as the Fibre Etch will dissolve the linen but not the silk.
2. Once the direction of the linen threads is determined decide on the width of the line you want, mark it on the fabric.
3. Apply the Fibre Etch.
4. Iron with an iron set no higher than the wool setting.
5. Rinse and rub gently to remove fibres.
6. You are ready gather threads and tie them off.

Special “Devore” Fabrics

These fabrics have been designed for the devore process. They are made of cellulose fibres woven into a synthetic base. The synthetic threads create both warp and weft which means that when the cellulose fibres are "burt-out" you are still left with a stable fabric, this synthetic base is practically invisible. These fabrics can also be dyed and the synthetic base remains undyed and barely visible.

The process for these is simple:

1. apply chemical
2. dry
3. apply heat with warm iron
4. rinse and dry or dye.

Instructions

It is important to note that not all fabrics can be discharged. Test the fabric you want to discharge first as various effects can result and you may or may not like what the result is. Sometimes there is no result at all.

1. We recommend applying the paste undiluted with a small paint brush. Our experience is that if the product is diluted the results are less within our control. You can use a stencil or paint free hand, if you use a stencil be sure to wipe it dry before you put it down in the next location or you will be left with discharged smears... .it is a disapointing result which can be difficult to correct.
2. After applying the paste let it dry completely, if you don't it will not discharge evenly and the areas still damp will discharge the least. Some fabrics like the crepe de chine will wick the chemical away from the desired area if left to dry over time, this causes poorly defined designs. To avoid this speed up the drying process with the use of a hair dryer.
3. Once dry, iron with a steam iron set to the lowest steam setting. I do not actually touch the iron to the fabric but steam very close to it. The steaming will cause the colour to disapear, the more steam applied the more colour disapears. All fabrics react differently and some will discharge very consistently, this is also affected by how evenly the paste was applied. Be sure your iron is filled with water before starting as the process can require alot of steam.
4. Rinse the fabric under running water to remove the chemical and return the fabric to it's original texture... the dried paste makes it feel stiff.
5. Dry as appropriate for the fabric being used.
6. Paint colour into discharged area if desired.

The wonderfull thing about discharge paste is that even mistakes can look great. Be flexible in your expectations at least at first and experiment a lot. This is a product with a lot of potential.

We suggest using "discharge" fabrics as they are designed for the process but experiment on any fabric.

Discharge Chiffon Scarf
This crinkle chiffon is easily seen through which allows tracing of patterns. This butterfly motif was from a computer program. I printed it on paper and placed the copy in a plastic sleeve to protect it from the discharge paste. This was placed beneath the chiffon and discharge paste was applied with a brush. Each butterfly is slightly different as I picked up different details each time. Once processed I added dye in green and purple, It does not matter if dyes run beyond the discharge lines as the dye "disappears" into the surrounding dark colour. Discharge Chiffon is available in Navy, Brown & Black.

Discharge Cotton Velvet
Using a stencil we applied discharge paste to this black cotton velvet. Once processed we then applied dye in yellow and red allowing the two to bleed together to create "Autumn Leaves".	Sample of discharge process having used a stencil on black cotton velvet.