Silk Tag Trials – Triskele Test

I’ve been testing ways to create symbolic silk tags for the Goddess.exe collection—something small, sacred, and technically clean enough to live in a luxury garment. For this test, I used a fine silk ribbon and painted a triskele symbol using resist and silk paint.

I started by drawing the symbol with a washable pencil, then stretched the silk with my fingers before securing it in a tiny embroidery hoop. I applied clear gutta through a fine metal nib to block the paint, then let it dry for two hours.

Next came Setasilk black paint with a fine brush. Most of the lines held, but some feathering happened—likely because this silk ribbon is far lighter and looser than standard silk. Even with resist, paint travels. It’s like working with mist.

After letting the paint dry overnight, I soaked the tag to remove the gutta, then ironed it to set the design. The result? Mixed. The symbol is legible but not flawless. The weave is just too delicate to control every edge.

Still, this test told me what I needed to know: ultra-light silk exaggerates everything. Every tremor. Every drop of paint. For final tags, I’ll either switch to a firmer silk base or slow the entire process down—more drying time, a drier brush, and more precision with gutta application.

This experiment also sparked a new idea: what if I used a raised medium like Pebeo Setacolor 3D Gloss instead of flat paint? A glossy, sculpted effect could give the tag a different kind of energy—less soft relic, more digital sigil.

We’ll see. That’s the point of all this: trial, error, upgrade.