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The artisanal making of a hand-painted silk fan requires a series of steps to complete its development. However, like almost everything in life, it depends on using good raw materials. In our case, the type of silk we use at ManosdeAgua is key when creating a fan with specific characteristics.
The fan consists of the ribs and a pleated fabric part called the leaf, which can be plain or painted. The fabric of the fan’s leaf can be any material that can be stiffened and pleated, whether plain, printed, or hand-painted. It shouldn’t be too thick so that it can be opened and closed easily when used.
In the case of our fans, what we do is paint the piece of silk that will become the fan’s leaf by stretching it on a frame. Then the dye must be fixed in the steamer, washed, stretched again to be stiffened, pleated, mounted onto the fan, and the top edge finished by hand.
At ManosdeAgua we mostly use two types of silk: habotai or pongee 08 and 10 mommes, and silk organza to make the leaf of the fans. Mommes in silk are the units used to measure the weight or quality of the silk; the higher the momme, the thicker it is.
Habotai silk
Habotai is a light and shiny silk, very suitable for the leaf of the fans due to its strength. The serti technique, using gutta to create the outlines of the design, is the one we use most to paint the silk pongee.
Organza silk
Organza is stiff, light, and transparent, and can be made of nylon, polyester, rayon, or natural fibers like cotton, hemp, or silk. Silk is the most expensive of the fibers used to make organza. At ManosdeAgua we only use 100% natural silk organza. Since organza is stiff and has a natural sizing, it causes the dye to spread less. The result of using silk organza is an elegant, transparent, and yet strong fan.
