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Rusting fabric is so simple, yet it yields fabulous restults. Cotton, silk and wool can be rusted. Soak each piece of fabric in water and squeeze out the water. Soak each damp piece of fabric in white vinegar and squeeze out the excess. Any metal object made of iron can be used to rust the fabric. My favorite is steel wool available at the home depot, lowes or any hardware store. It can be found in the paint section of the store. It comes in different grades from very fine to coarse. I have tried them all.
The fine steel wool yields the light colored motif that looks like brown sand sprinkled on the fabric. The coarse yields a darker field of color. The rusted motifs were made with large nails, washers, a star shaped object found at a flea market. The best motifs will come from object that are not sealed–wire, chain, cans, etc. If the object should be rusted before starting.
To rust metal objects make a bath of vinegar and water and let sit in the sun for several days. If the object has not started to rust then it is not made of the correct metal.
To rust the fabric: wrap the fabric around the steel wool or object and secure if necessary. Lay the bundle on plastic and cover lightly with more plastic on a humid day. The silk and wool will rust quickly check in less than 2 hours. The cotton can be left over night.
Shake the fabric into a trash can to remove all the metal flakes and rinse in water–outside. Do not do this in your sink. Once the fabric is clean wash it in the washer with a mild detergent and dry.
The pictures show the final results. There are also 4 silk scraves that have been rusted shown in the photos. Experiment and see what you can create.
