Silk magic is standard in a magic show. There are a varied of things you can do with them. They can be the star of the show in production tricks or they can be a supporting player when they are used to cover some-thing that’s going to disappear.
I know so many silk tricks, but I thought it best just to include a few here. These two take time to prepare, but they are well worth it.
Showing or Blowing
Everyone always thinks that everything goes up the magician’s sleeve. This trick actually does take ad-vantage of your sleeve. This is a nice effect to use as an opener. I have used a similar version for many years. The dialogue is exactly from my repertoire.
Effect:
A silk handkerchief is taken out of the breast pocket. Within seconds, the silk vanishes right in front of the audience. In case anyone was wondering, it went right back to the pocket.
Props:
Two 12 inch square silk handkerchiefs of the same color Four strong rubber bands
The scarf you use is very important. The type magicians prefer is a thin kind of pure silk. These show up big, but fold perfectly. If you have any problems with it getting caught up your sleeve, then the silk is prob-ably a blend.
Preparation:
Take one of the silks and put it in your breast pocket. Make sure a little bit of the corner sticks up. The device that is going up your sleeve is made by knotting the four rubber bands into a chain. This is called a pull.
See figure 1. You may need more depending upon your sleeve length. I use six rubber bands. But this depends
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Tie the second silk to one end of the rubber band about three inches from the corner. See figures 2 and 3.
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Loop the other end of the rubber band pull around your belt loop on the left side of the body. See figure 4.
Hold the silk at the knot between the right thumb and first finger. Then put on the coat so the rub-ber band pull stretches behind you and through your right sleeve. Extend your right arm out horizontally and pull the silk knot forward so the chain of rubber bands are evenly stretched and under tension.
Fig. 5
Accordion pleat the silk as in figure 5. Then hold it in right hand. Make sure that one of the corners pro-trude so you can get to it easily as in figure 6.
Fig. 6
To perform:
“People always ask me how did I first learn to do magic. When I was a kid, I use to bug the owner of the local magic store to show me a trick. This was his favorite. He’d take out his pocket handkerchief.”
With the both hands, reach over to the breast pocket. With the right hand, push the protruding silk into the pocket. At the same time pretend to pull out the palmed silk in your right hand.
Use your left hand to hold back the palmed silk as you grab the corner. Pull it up and it looks like it is coming out of the pocket. Shake it up and down a few times. Be careful not to let go of the pull as of yet. Practice in front of a mirror to get the general effect. See figure 7.
“I said, ‘Ew. . . that’s not the hanky you blow your nose with, is it?’” Make a face. “No, this is for showing.
. .” smile. “. . . not for blowing,” pretend to look at the imaginary child. “I said, ‘Well, if it’s for showing, then show me a trick.’”
“He said, ‘Alright. I’m going to make this handkerchief disappear.’
“I said, ‘Most magicians won’t tell you that ahead of time.’
“ ‘That’s because I want to you to watch very closely.’”
Move the hands away from the body so as to put tension on the pull. Figure 7 shows it from the audi-ences view. Figure 8 shows it from your angle.
Make a motion as if you are going to toss it up in the air. As you do, release the silk so it can fly up your sleeve. Pretend that it is tossed up by watching the invisible flight. This is so no one sees the silk going up the sleeve. (See figure 10).
Fig. 8 Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Pause. Brush hands together. “I said, ‘Hey, where did the hanky go?’
“ ‘It went right back to the pocket.’”
Go to the breast pocket and pull out the duplicate silk. Bow. Put the silk back in the pocket. Look at the audience, then continue to tuck it in. Then look at the audience again. Pause. “Pretty darn amazing.” Say this with mock seriousness. “I know darn is unusual, but hey. . . I was just a kid.”
If the silk gets caught up in your sleeve, many things could be the reason. The length of the rubber bands are too long. Maybe you didn’t tie the knot up far enough on the silk. If it still gets caught up, try moving your arm farther forward. This will put more tension on the pull. Practice this a little bit to get the feel of it. Once you do, then you’ll be like an old pro.