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Sunday, April 21, 2013

Fabric Printing

This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time! Ever since I saw MadMim's hand printed Scout tee back in november. At the end of March, a friend of mine conveniently announced her first stamp making workshop, and I just had to go. It was wonderful! At first we were a bit hesitant about what to make, but once we got going the creative juices started flowing. Ineke, the girl who gave the workshop is very creative and talented, I loved her wall of inspiration.




More pics of the workshop here. My real purpose was ofcourse to apply this to fabric. It is just so exciting to be able to create your own printed fabric! And I wanted to venture into woven fabrics, I've been mostly sewing with knits so far and it's time I expand my knowledge of fabrics. I bought three pieces of lightweight cotton and a natural knit to test my stamp dye on. I have two kinds, one that needs to be ironed and one that just needs to dry. I was surprised to see that the non-iron one held very well. I would prefer that one because the other one instructs to iron for 2 (!) minutes, and not every fabric can take that. In fact, I don't think any fabric can take that. My fabric started discolouring after 15 seconds anyway. So now I can start thinking of design/colour combinations. I would wear all these three colours. I've never worn this salmon pink before, but it suits my skin tone. These are my favourites.



Yes I know, I've put a bird on it. But I still like them. I tried fish but it's just not as cute (ooh the dirty c-word). The black did not get through the wash very well, but maybe this faded look is not so bad. I'd love to have the grey and pink ones as a shirt, but they wrinkle so badly. Maybe I should get a decent iron. The blue one is not an option, it faded after one wash. What combos/stamps do you like? Any experience with hand printing fabric? Do you have a favorite method?

P.S. I'm so sorry, but I won't be able to make it for this months Pattern Magic Project. It has been very busy with work lately and I've been catching up with friends a lot because I started to become a hermit. I'm hoping to get it done for next week though, please bear with me!

12 comments:

  1. That fox is gorgeous, it's so sweet!

    Lisa, did you receive that issue of Threads late last year? I'm only asking because I finally got to use the polycotton you sent over. Hope you like it! ohsewcultured.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. I did, thanks! I'm surprised I didn't email you back then, sorry! You did an amazing job with that fabric, it looks so interesting!

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  2. I love printing on fabric it's quite therapeutic, sadly I don't do it enough!
    I really like the fox too and the birds are sweet!!

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  3. I have only hand printed a pair of espadrilles, I used a wooden block to make it, they turned out more or less well but I have to improve my skills!
    Can´t wait to see your experiment over a garment!

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  4. I am about to try the freezer paper stencil method. But I love your stamps! Good job. :)

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  5. I've printed on fabric using lino blocks, I used a textile medium by Ceramcoat that you mix with acrylic paint. I like it because then I can use stuff I already have. The bottle says to use a pressing cloth over the design and move the iron for 20 seconds to heat set it. It seems to hold up okay in the wash so far.

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    1. I see what you mean, I've already bought 12 colours :) A pressing cloth would probably help, although 2 minutes is still long.

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  6. Hallo Lisa,

    Oh dat papieren bootje, wat mooi! Ik kreeg voor kerst een doosje gutsen en een stukken lino, en ben daar vorige week mee aan de slag gegaan. Mijn eerste stempel is niet slecht voor een eerste, maar ik vond het toch niet gemakkelijk! Mijn stempels op papier en met een stempelkussen afdrukken lukt prima, maar met textielverf op stof niet zo goed/mooi. Mag ik vragen welke textielverf of -inkt jij gebruikt hebt? Alvast bedankt, en groetjes uit Belgiƫ!

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    1. Ja, stom dat ik dat niet gezegd heb. Ik heb DecoArt van Rayher gebruikt, (die hoef je niet te strijken) en Decorfin (die je moet strijken). Allebei doen het dus goed, op de foto's zie je ze na een wasbeurt van 40 graden.

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    2. Ha bedankt, ik ga eens kijken of ik dat hier bij ons ook kan vinden!

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  7. I've never printed on fabric, but I have painted on it many times (using straight acrylic, maybe I'll try to textile medium).

    I like your designs! I think the faded black chevrons are interesting, and the slight fading adds to the handmade integrity. I look forward to seeing where this goes.

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