Things to do · Arts and crafts
Learn silk painting
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
You draw a design on silk with a line of resist called gutta, then paint dye into the shapes, and the resist keeps each colour inside its borders. Many beginners' classes supply the silk and dyes, and you go home with a scarf, a framed picture or a cushion cover you painted.
GentleUnder £100 / $130A few weeksIndoorsWith othersUK and US
Someone who has done it
These are real people who did this, as reported by the outlets named. We opened each one before linking it. None of them is connected with this site.
What a first class is like
Most classes start with the outline. At West Dean College the gutta resist is used as a line to draw the image, and dyes are then painted on with brushes and water, with salt effects, layering and alcohol application. Textile Center in Minneapolis describes gutta as a latex-based resist and uses fibre-reactive dyes.
The colour has to be fixed before the silk can be worn or washed. Textile Center's class covers setting the cloth by steaming, Figge Art Museum's tutor gives each piece a final steam after the last session, and Inspire's adult learning class in Nottinghamshire taught heat setting.
Ways in compared
| Where | Format | Cost (as last listed) |
|---|---|---|
| Cumbria Adult Learning, Ennerdale Bridge | Two Saturday mornings, 10am to 1pm (May 2027 run); resist lines in session one, silk paint in session two; all tools and materials provided; you take home a square silk scarf | £55, or £32.50 concession |
| Craft Courses listing, Market Drayton | Silk Painting for beginners with Jane Hughes, three hours | £60 |
| Textile Center, Minneapolis | One day, 10am to 5pm (March 2026 run); gutta, fibre-reactive dyes and steaming; all levels | $151, plus a $45 materials fee paid to the tutor |
| Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa | Two Saturday sessions, 10am to 2pm (past run); serti technique with gutta on a 12-inch square of silk; materials provided; beginners | $120, or $115 members |
West Dean College's weekend course is for all levels and provides all dyes, gutta and equipment; its page did not show a fee when last checked, so ask when you book. The Textile Center class was sold out when last listed.
How to start
- Look for a beginners' silk painting class: an adult learning service, an arts centre, a textile centre or a residential craft college.
- Check what the fee covers. Some classes supply the silk, dyes and gutta; others ask you to bring silk paints and resist, or charge a separate materials fee.
- Take an apron, and check the kit list: some classes ask for brushes, a pencil and sketch paper.
Where to go
- Cumbria Adult Learning: Silk Scarf Painting, A Colourful Introduction UK
- West Dean College: Silk painting with vibrant colour and pattern UK
- Textile Center (Minneapolis): Painting on Silk US
We opened these links on 12 November 2026 and found them to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
Plan this
Two ways to plan it.
Plan it yourself Free
The links you need to book it, get there, find somewhere to stay and eat, and see what else there is to do nearby. They are searches for you to run; nothing is saved.
Show the links
Plan it with dates
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. Courses and classes have start dates and can fill up, so the plan begins with finding and booking one. Kit comes after the first session, once you know what you need.
Questions people ask
What is gutta in silk painting?
A resist that you draw on the silk as an outline. It stops the dye spreading past the line; Textile Center describes it as latex-based, and some classes use a water-based resist instead.
Do I need to be good at drawing to try silk painting?
No. Cumbria Adult Learning's course is designed for people with little or no artistic experience, and West Dean says no previous silk painting knowledge is needed.
How is the colour fixed on painted silk?
By steaming or heat setting. Textile Center and Figge Art Museum steam the finished silk; Inspire's Nottinghamshire class taught heat setting.
Are materials included in a silk painting class?
Often, but check. Cumbria Adult Learning and Figge Art Museum provide them; Textile Center charges a $45 materials fee; one Nottinghamshire class asked learners to bring their own silk paints and gutta.
Where this comes from: Cumbria Adult Learning, Beginners Painting, Silk Scarf Painting (WHI26T034); West Dean College, Silk painting with vibrant colour and pattern with Hilary Simon; Craft Courses, silk painting course listings; Textile Center, Painting on Silk; Figge Art Museum, Silk Painting; Katonah Art Center, Silk Painting; Inspire Adult Learning, Silk Painting, Newark Buttermarket. Opened 12 November 2026.
Read next
From the Latest Music Bar to the hospital lab: Angi Mariani's first in biomedical science
How a Brighton music-bar owner and TV presenter took a part-time science degree alongside a hospital lab job, what national figures say about who keeps learning, and how to find a course or a way into laboratory work.
“Education has no expiration”: Virginia Ordaz and her mother finished their degrees in the same class
How a retired fire dispatcher from Stockton, California, finished the degree she started in 1989, and how her mother finished hers more than 40 years after her last class. How to find out what your own old credits are worth, in the US and the UK.