Coloring support fabrics in textile conservation

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I am currently a final year student studying for the three-year
post-graduate Diploma in textile conservation at the Textile
Conservation Centre in Winchester, Great Britain.  As one of my
third year projects, I am investigating the use of colouring media
for the localised colouration of support fabrics in textile
conservation.  One of the ways I am hoping to gather existing
knowledge on this topic is by way of a literature survey. However,
to date, the published sources appear to be comparatively scarce, so
I would like to extend the available information by contacting
conservators directly as well as by carrying out laboratory tests
myself (exploring the effects of different combinations of colouring
media, substrates and application techniques).

I am hoping that by posting on the conservation distribution list, I
will be able to reach a great number of conservators from different
national backgrounds who might have different experiences and views
on this topic. Your help would provide me with valuable information
which I could incorporate into my research.  To this end, I have
devised a list of questions which I am enclosing with this message.
I would be very grateful for any views you would be prepared to
share. I hope you will agree with me that it would be of benefit to
conservators if they had access to a wider knowledge regarding this
topic and I would like to thank you in advance for your thoughts and
time.

    1.  Which colouring media have you used for the localised
        colouration of support fabrics?  (As opposed to
        full-immersion dyes used to colour the entire fabric..

    2.  How would you categorise the type of textile which required
        the use of colouring media in its conservation?

    3.  Why did you choose this particular colouring medium?

    4.  How did you find out about the suitability of the colouring
        medium for conservation?

    5.  Which application methods did you use?

    6.  Which substrate did you use?

    7.  Did you use those materials and techniques for the localised
        colouration of:
        *   semi    transparent overlays
        *   or support/lining fabrics (in order to visually in-fill
            areas of loss?)

    8.  How would you evaluate the success of the treatment?

    9.  What are your views on the ethical implications of using
        colouring media?

Kim Thuesing

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:29
                 Distributed: Friday, November 12, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-13-29-017
                                  ***