How to Make a Silk Scarf Stretcher from PVC Pipe

If you are going to paint dye onto a silk scarf, as versus just
bunching one up on a plastic plate and dropping dye on it willy-nilly
(which oddly enough can come out pretty well), you will want to
stretch it with some tension on a frame
!he tension keeps the scarf taut and prevents sagging, which would
allow any dye applied to run directly downhill into the hollows rather
than spreading evenly by capillary action !his is particularly
important if you plan on using a resist material painted on to corral
dyes so they don"t run amok # no point spending all that time outlining a design if sagging material lets
the dye run over a resist line on its gleeful way downhill
$ere is a picture of my finished %&' stretcher, which cost me about ()* to make # the construction was
a little more fiddly than originally planned, as the store didn"t carry the e+act plumbing fittings I wanted,
so I made do with what they had which entailed buying some e+tra fittings to convert between si,es If
you plan ahead better than I did here (especially if you can find left over parts from a friend"s
construction site-), you will probably be able to do a more streamlined job for less money $owever, I
am documenting the process as I stumbled through it, so it may serve someone as a bit of a guide and
help them save time through their own project $ave at it-
Step 1 Figure out what size you want
I wanted to be able to stretch scarves of various si,es, from say . to /) wide, and up to 0 1" long (23)
I planned on putting stainless steel safety pins along the edges of the scarves and using rubber bands
stretching from the pins to the %&' pipe frame, using a trampoline effect to keep the scarf taut I figured
I should add at least * on each side of my largest scarf to allow room for the rubber bands, which meant
I needed to add 0 to both the length and the width of my largest scarf /) + 23 scarf plus 0 e+tra on
each side means I need a /3 + 3. frame
Step 2 Sketch design to determine supplies needed
4ketch out your design showing dimensions so you will know how many pieces of pipe to buy (generally
found in /5 foot sections) &isit a plumbing supply website (I used $ome 6epot) so you will be familiar
with the various kinds of fittings available and their si,es !hink about how fittings will join the pipes I
decided to use / pipe as the 1 pipe looked like it might bend too easily $ence I needed / fittings
7elow is a copy of my plan - for the si,e I wanted, I determined
I would need two pieces of /5" pipe, . 4ide 8utlet 9lbows, .
4lip ! couplings and . :educing ;emale <dapters or whatever
else looked like it would make good feet
I set out to the store with my list
/
Slip Coupling
If I used just two long sections of pipe for the sides, they would
bow in when under tension # I wanted a brace in the middle

I will add a ! in the middle of the long sides, adding a short section
of pipe below for a leg, then add another ! that will hold a brace
running between the sides
Four!way Cross Coupling
=hen I got to the store they only had * 4lip ! couplings left in the
/ si,e !hese ;our-way 'ross 'ouplings will work fine, and the
bottom of the coupling looks like it would make a sturdy foot

I will need to add a three inch section of pipe between the ! junction and the four-way cross coupling
so the scarf will not inadvertently touch the cross bar (which would allow dye a place to pool)
Side "utlet #l$ows
!his side outlet elbow would be perfect for my . corners, joining the
pipes in a s>uare frame and allowing easy addition of a piece of the
leftover / pipe for the legs ?nfortunately they didn"t have any of
these at all-
I did find these Socket %educing couplings, which looked like they
would work !hey will make a corner for the / pipe I want for the
frame, but the reduction to 1 inch means I will have to use 1 pipe for
the legs, not left-over / sections as planned $owever, the legs don"t
really need to be heavy duty, since I will only be using the frame for
silk scarves # not e+actly a heavy load I decide to soldier on
4ome @ale &dapters (shown) are needed which will attach to the
small port to securely hold the smaller 1 inch pipe for the legs Aou
will save money by not having to do this-
%educing Female &dapters
!he end of the 1 pipe used for the legs will need some kind of foot
!hese reducing female adapters will accept the 1 pipe and provide a
steady base
Step ' %ound up your tools
)
Aou will needB
- $acksaw (buy yourself a nice new blade)
- !ape measure or yardstick
- 4andpaper ( 1 sheet of medium C fine)
- %encil and magic marker, *+D card
- 9lectrical or vinyl tape
- =6.5 or other lubricant for joints
- 4mall can %&' cement # see note below
I decided not to use the cement, as I want to be able to take my stretcher apart for storage between
projects If you are using cement, put some gloves on and ensure good ventilation
!he wine glass is for after I am done of courseE
Step ( )ayout the pieces and dou$le check the plan
7efore cutting any pipe, double check your figures on your sketch I had to re-draw some sections
and change the leg arrangement due to the change in fittings I also neglected to allow for the
diameter of the pipe itself in my line drawing, so the finished framework was about an inch bigger
than I had originally planned, which didn"t matter for this project, but it is something to remember
Step * Measuring and cutting the pipes
@easure out the longest pipe section you will need @ake a clear mark and write keep on the
correct side of the line =rapping a *+D card around the pipe will help you draw an even mark all the
way around the pipe
=rap a piece of electrical or vinyl tape around the pipe at the mark, but don"t cover up the mark
entirely (if you do you might cut on the wrong side of the tape-)
6on"t screw that up- 6on"t drink any wine-
!he hacksaw blade will want to jump around a little 4lowly draw it across the pipe, supporting the
blade so it touches the edge of the black tape (much easier to see than a dinky pencil mark, plus the
tape cuts down on the blade jittering around)
<fter a few light passes, the pipe will be scored and the blade will settle in 4core the pipe carefully
all the way around before getting aggressive with the blade If you try to cut all the way through
without scoring, invariably the cut will be crooked If you have a band saw, lucky you
*
Fote the ragged edge of the pipe that the hacksaw left (top pipe)
!ake your medium grit sandpaper and smooth the burrs off the edges (this will be easier if the paper is
wrapped around a wood block)
!hen take the fine grit paper and finish smoothing the edge, plus the last inch or so of the outside of
the pipe =hen the pipe is smooth it will easily slide into a coupling, and will allow a good bond with
the cement, if you will be using it
Step + &ssem$ling the upper frame
'ut the four pieces of pipe that will form the top of the frame <fter
each cut, double check the length of each matching piece to ensure
uniformity
4lide the *-way elbow pieces on the ends of the long side pieces of
pipe 4crew the male adapters into the bottoms of the elbows
(remember I have a few e+tra steps here as I had to get additional
fittings to go with the couplings I could get)
Aou should adapt these steps to match whatever fittings you have
9ven if you plan on using cement, do not apply any until the entire frame is assembled and you have
checked for mistakes Aou won"t get those pieces apart again after you glue them- ;or now they will
fit >uite snuggly all on their own If you don"t plan on using cement later, spray the ends with
lubricant to make insertion easier
?se a 4lip ! coupling to connect the side pieces of the upper
frame !hen slide the other end of the side pieces into their
respective corner couplings
Fow slide the cross pieces for the ends into the corner couplings
Aou may have to tor>ue the pipes around a bit to get the frame to
s>uare up
If the frame appears >uite a bit off, check to see if you have slid
each pipe all the way into the couplings # there are stop guides
inside each coupling
.
Step , &dding cross $race and legs
;lip the frame over and insert the three inch sections of pipe into the bottom of the 4lip ! coupling !hen
add the other ! (or here, the ;our-way 'ross) coupling to the pipe 4lip the center brace into place
!he center couplingGbrace assembly will serve as the center legs of the frame < measurement of these
legs compared to the bit of leg already present on the frame corners (due to whatever couplings are being
used there) will indicate how long a leg to cut for the corners
!ake a !-s>uare or a ruler and carefully measure the perpendicular
distance between the top of the frame and the bottom of the ;our-way
'ross coupling (which is serving as the center leg)
If this measurement is not the same on both sides, you will have to remove
the longer leg section and sand it down until it matches 8therwise you
will have a wobbly frame
@ark the dimension down on a clean piece of paper ;or an e+ample, this
measurement was 3 H
Fow measure the distance between the top of the frame and the bottom of
the male adapter screwed into the corner elbows
:ecord this on the piece of paper mentioned in the last step ;or this
e+ample it was * I Juckily I remembered to allow for the depth inside
the coupling that the pipe would slip into (remember those stop guides
inside the couplingsKK) It was 1
I wanted a foot on the bottom of the leg # a ;emale :educing coupling
which will add a 1 to the length # since the two numbers will cancel each
other out I can ignore them
D
6oing the math, 3 H minus * I indicates the leg segment needed for the corners would be . 1
!o be sure this was going to work I marked the lines on the piece of paper which gave me a nice visual
representation of where I needed to cut the 1 pipe with the foot already on it
Step - Finish
;lip frame over and adjust # you may have to grasp both sides of
the frame and apply a little tor>ue (carefully-) here and there to
settle it down on all its legs, and to s>uare up the sides to each
other < t-s>uare is useful for this step too
If you want to cement the pieces, disassemble the entire frame
(but mark those pieces first so you can put it back easily-) and
repeat the steps following the directions on the can
$ere is a snapshot showing a scarf stretched on my frame # note
the rubber band (short) on the left, and a much larger one on the
right of the picture !his is an 3 inch scarf # rather than suspend
it in the middle of my /3 frame, I prefer it closer to one end so I
can apply my brush without reaching over Leep a bo+ of
rubber bands of various si,es handy
If you are working with a shorter scarf, simply tape a leftover
section of pipe (or a yardstick or whatever) across the frame at
the desired point and use that as the end
4ince I did not glue my stretcher, I can also re-configure it by taking out two of the side pieces and the
center legs, making it just .) long
I hope this tutorial is useful for you # if my directions are unclear or you have a comment, feel free to
send me a note $ave yourself a happy dye-
@ary 9 $ogencamp mary.hogencamp@gmail.com
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