In this process you use silk velvet which is made on a synthetic background. This is crucial as the paste you use to burn out the silk does not react with the synthetic material.
The paste we used is a mix (this can be bought from "Art Van Go UK in a pack in the correct proportions and goes a long way)
We used stencils or freezer paper and painted the paste onto the backside of the velvet. This is left to dry and the ironed to activate the paste process. Once dry we scrapped/rubbed off the burnt parts and had a lacy piece of fabric.
We then died the pieces as we choose. First we used Disperse dyes ironing them on the synthetic side to get some colour into the synthetic backing - which now shows through to the front in the denuded silk patches. The silk we dyed with Dylon dyes, you could use any fabric dye. These were then left to dry.
When we returned to the pieces we added some more dye to some of them. When they were dry we prepared some for gilding. This mean sealing some areas with Gel Paste or PVA. When they were thoroughly dry we applied Gilding paste which once again had to dry. When dry it remains tacky and this is what the gilding adheres to.