Printing something out of nothing

Here's a challenge. Use your scraps to give you print confidence!

Two of my most liked pattern sample garments are the ones I printed using a very simple stencilling technique. It is bold and graphic, but so easy to do so I thought I would give a little tutorial today.

All you really need is a stencil, some ink and a sponge. I have a very good supply of some architects drafting sheets, which has a plastic coating and is perfect for stencils, but you could make use of plastic packaging. Be resourceful ;-) My Dad rescued my supply from a skip, so I am one lucky lady! The ink I used is Permaset Aqua screen printing ink from here. It is solvent free, so much kinder to the environment. The scrap of denim is actually a hemmed piece I cut off the bottom of some super long sleeves I was sewing and destined for the recycling bag.

The stencil was simply cut with a scalpel and a cutting mat. It's fun to work with just very simple shapes and design with little pressure to create an accurate repeat.

 With some paper underneath the fabric to protect the table, I just weighed down the stencil and got dabbing with my inked sponge.

Go wild and cover your piece.

To finish off, heat set the print once it has cured or dried properly. I usually do this by throwing my printed fabric in the tumble dryer for a hot spin, but you can use an iron also.

My printed scrap was begging to be made into a pencil case and this bright coral zip looked brilliant against the fabric.

A really good use of some pieces which were destined to be destroyed.

The piece I printed the other day with my carved block got made into a drawstring bag. Perfect to use as a project bag or re-usable gift wrapping.

 So hopefully this demonstrates that you can really enjoy the process by thinking really small and using pieces of fabric that would not otherwise seem useful!

M x

Printing my stash

Hello and happy new year! A new year feels like a chance to start a fresh. I do not want to make any resolutions because I never stick to them, but I do want to make more of my fabric stash. Fabric bans do not work for me, so I'm going to explore the idea of improving what I have by experimenting with print. If you have followed me for a while then you may already know that I love to play with printing at home. I want to continue doing that and also be more playful to push myself further. I am not sure exactly where this is going to take me, but I thought that I could share my experiments and perhaps inspire some of you to do the same. I have loads of ideas buzzing around, so am trying not to get ahead of myself, but the distraction should at least prevent me from looking at shiny new fabric....

I gently eased myself into the idea by carving a simple block with a repeating geometric design. For reference the block is this softcut. It is my first time using it and I like the smooth texture of the block and how easy it is to carve with no crumbling. I also road tested my recently purchased carving tools. I love that they come with a sharpening block.

I inked the block by rolling some screen printing ink on. It's quite a fluid and slippery ink which is why it's so patchy, but I want to try lots of different things. It created quite a lovely distressed print. My main aim is to make some of my fabric more usable and more attractive to me so I can actually sew them up into something I'm happy with. If you want to play along with me then that would be fab and don't worry about producing enough yardage for a garment. Even printing a fat quarter with which to make an accessory or something can be a great way to rejuvenate your scraps! This is not a formal challenge at all, just something fun to get the creative juices flowing for the new year! x

Handprinted Southport dress

My last post was about this handprinted fabric and I cut into it as soon as it was washed and ready! I bought this Southport dress pattern from True Bias not long after it's release as it's currently on offer until the sewalong starts and I think it's a good staple pattern to add to my collection.

I did have to make some changes from the off because I knew the skirt would not work on my shape. I only printed as far as the shorter length skirt to save paper and ink (the file is quite large due to the maxi length). The shorter skirt is quite short and very straight and this does my thighs no favours, so I added 18cm to the length and opened it out to make a slight (but not too full) A-line on the front and back. I have a feeling that I may have saved myself a job by printing the maxi skirt and shortening it, as this looks to have a slight flare, but oh well!!!

Since making the dress I have noted some amendments for future versions. Nothing that bothers me too much, but the front bodice is a touch too short which makes the skirt hem rise up. This is not a modification that I normally have to make, so it's probably worth checking that this is long enough for you.

FYI - I made a size 8.

Also the armholes and neckline were a touch too deep, so once I had started adding the bias facing I tried it on and decided to make it a binding instead to retain the seam allowance. I feel more comfortable with this extra coverage and think the straps would have been too narrow for me otherwise. Unfortunately I had added ease into the bias to fold it back as a facing, so it does gape a bit. When I add bias as a binding I make it a bit tighter, so that it pulls it in and sits flat.

I decided to omit the front button band on this version and instead cut on the fold using the centre front guide. I guess I'm rebelling against the fact that I've had to wear front opening garments for the last two and a half years for nursing, but it's a cute feature and I'll definitely try it at some point. I also added a closed casing with inserted elastic instead of a fabric tie at the waist. The main reason being that I was feeling lazy and I like to just pull things on without thinking about little fastenings.

So, those are my thoughts and changes, but overall I think that this is a great little pattern that I can see being very versatile. I am thinking of making a black silk jersey version with a t-shirt top using either my Maya pattern or the Grainline Scout tee. I have seen some really cute dresses that I have pinned to my pinterest board for Maya top/Ilsley skirt combinations, but may use this pattern instead. This dress below is from People tree.

The other great thing about this pattern is that I now have a base for a cute woven tank. I have been wavering between the Grainline tiny pocket and the Wiksten tank for ages, but with a few mods, this one could be 'the one'.

Oh god, here is a good shot of how much the bodice rides up at the front! It looks a bit maternity here, but it may be how I'm standing.

So hopefully this a helpful account of my experience with this pattern and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of this one around this summer. I love having something new to add to the stash!

I was hoping for glorious sunshine and summery shots, but instead donned tights with sandals. Here's a goofy shot to finish!!! Roll on summer!

Low tech printing

I have been playing around with lots of print ideas lately trying to find ways of producing satisfactory results with very basic means and I thought I'd share some progress so far. I am printing mainly 2 metre lengths at a time to produce something useful which is tricky to manoeuvre around my dining table, but not impossible!!! These are all for personal use, but shall provide inspiration towards something else.

FYI - I use speedball fabric screen printing ink throughout!

This first idea couldn't be any more low tech! It is a stripe design made up of hand painted crosses on grey chambray (with the odd minus sign dotted around). The stripes are painted by eye following the fabric grain and using a ruler down the edge to start me off with an even-ish spacing. All I used was a paintbrush, some ink, a ruler and a lot of patience!

This next one is a screen print using a small thermofax screen. Thermofax screens are a lot more lightweight than regular screens, so perfect for small designs or using in space deficient areas. I got some vouchers for my birthday and ordered a few small screens to use for various projects and they are proving very versatile. They are also easy to store as they are really thin which is a bonus! Claire who runs Thermofax screens is very helpful indeed, so if you were thinking of getting your own designs made up then email her with any queries before placing your order. If you are unsure about anything then she will be sure to help you out. If you don't want the hassle of designing something then they do have ready made designs to choose from.

Oops, made a printing boo boo on the left hand side!

Not sure if it's clear, but I marked the length of fabric with chalk guides for screen placement, so once I was set up with the screen I was ready to go.

This is what the screen looks like.

The next print I made and am still working on is this one which is made using a simple stencil. I have two very large packs of opaque thin plastic sheets that my dad rescued from a council skip from a building job he was working on many, many years ago which I used for my stencil. I'm so pleased I have found a new use for it! I guess it would have been used by architects or for some kind of drafting/design?

I marked my design in pencil and cut it out using a scalpel. The great thing is that it's completely washable and the detail bits don't bend out of shape, so as long as I store it well should be re-usable for a fair time yet. 

I taped the stencil to my fabric and dabbed the ink on with a spongey brush thing. I have, until now, been cutting up household sponges, but this is much better and less messy.

Hand for scale!



So, that's what I've been up to and I just wanted to show you really that you can get pretty nice results from some fairly standard materials. As with any creative undertaking it's all about the play and experimentation. Be bold and try new things and you may really love the results! These are all made just for the enjoyment of it and maybe it's making you look at your plain lengths of fabric a little differently! ;-)

Printing by the metre

Hand printed fabric by the metre is an idea that has been in my head for a long time and now that I have developed a brand that can be expanded upon I have started to jot down some designs. This is still a work in progress, but I hope not too far from an 'actual' product.

My aim is to produce some very (very) small runs of fabric suitable for dress making and each will be unique in it's own right. I guess I'm playing out my artistic ambitions on fabric! :-)

I'm yet to find a repeatable source of suitable fabrics to print on, but will start out with a few small bits I already have and go from there. Going forward it would be great to be able to print on fair trade and/or organic fabrics, so am really looking into this as a possibility and also need to iron out a few tech issues with the care of hand printed fabrics. Currently I am experiencing fading after the first wash, which I am looking to reduce. It's realistic to expect fading, but I'm currently trying to assess how much is acceptable.

Anyway, that's what I'm up to and getting my hands very dirty in the process. All a bit scary and new, but it's an addition that's really getting my creativity flowing, which I am more than happy about!

Print development!

Fellow print swappees will probably have a fair idea of where they are going with their print by now, but I thought I would share my thought process and main idea so far.

Before even imagining doing a hand printed fabric swap, I went to London with my good sewing pal Jenna to see the current Matisse exhibition. It was a really great collection of his later artwork and was very revealing into his creative process. I really enjoyed the bold shapes, colours and freedom in his artworks and it felt as though they were created in flashes of inspiration, although they were probably much more considered then they appear.

I have been trying to engage with the works I saw in the exhibiton by creating paper shapes of my own.

I began by simply looking out of my window into the garden (excuse the mess) and cutting shapes out of parcel paper. I did this without marking with a pencil, as I didn't want to start fussing over details...

and this is what I made...

So that's a shed, a dandelion, some grass and a tree. I did make a key and a holly leaf too, but they were rubbish! The little squares are just offcuts, but they look nice like confetti

I like this, but am going to use this for something else.

The motifs are exactly what I want to use, but having seen this plate, I have decided to make them a bit lighter.

Below are some stamps that I cut from some lino. I used a super soft double sided lino and this lino cutting tool. I drew the shapes on with a pencil and gouged out the surrounding lino making sure to not dig in with the tool. If you dig at too much of an angle the blade gets caught, so just take your time and scoop small amounts. I stuck the lino shapes to small blocks of wood with a glue gun. The wood were just bits we had lying around in the garage, so nothing special!

To create a 2 colour tree stamp, I made the branches seperate from the main trunk. It gives me the option for 2 colours and also means that each tree will be slightly irregular as they will be lined up by eye. I could even use the shapes seperately to create pattern for another print maybe.

Below is a quick test print on paper using ink pads, but I have not decided on a repeat or colourway yet, so there are still some surprises left!!!!

So that is a peek into how my ideas are forming. I hope this is helpful and shows you how a simple exercise like looking out the window with a pair of scissors and some paper can take you in a brand new direction!

Wash with care!!!!

Disaster! Sometimes it takes me a while to learn valuable lessons, like this fabric does not wash well in the washing machine after printing!!!!

This is the second time I have done this people! The first was after screen printing the men here. Because it was screen printed, the ink penetrated well into the fabric, so although it faded in the wash, it was not a complete loss and the prints survives.

This layered print I posted yesterday did not fare quite as well. Maybe it's because it was sitting on the surface, having been stamped, and just washed away. I did fix with an iron, as instructed, but maybe not long enough. I'm not sure, but I am sure that this is now unsalvagable. I have had success with these inks (speedball screen printing) in the past, but on a tighter weave and not quite as soft and fuzzy, so maybe this is just not a good match. Oh well, you live and learn! I shall print test swatches in future to bung in the machine and also handwash, so I know what the outcome will be.

Don't worry, I'm not crying into my coffee, as this is aaaallll part of the learning process, but maybe you guys don't have to go through the same experience and can learn from my mistakes!!!

Printing with tools from around the house (or the supermarket!)

Another print experiment for you. This time the tools I have used are completely made up of stuff you can easily get hold of. I'm not too sure if I like the result yet or not, but I definitely enjoyed making it. The methods I used to make the below layered print are vegetable printing, hand painting, cork stamping and dabbing with a cotton bud.

I had a length of light blue linen that I dyed last week, which measures just over 1 metre and decided this was my canvas. Using my living room floor as a work space I lay out my fleece as a back cloth and the linen on top. Mess is not a concern in this room, as the horrible brown carpet will be gone within the next year, so if you are at all concerned about your floor then don't do this without sufficient protection.

 The first stage of printing was to create a textured background. I did this by using the corn on the cob vegetable printing method. I stabbed a cocktail fork in either end to use as a handle, wiped some ink onto it's entire surface with a sponge and rolled onto the fabric.

This old container seemed like the perfect resting place!

I rolled one rotation of the cob before topping up the ink and did do different directions every now and then.

It's got a bit of a funny snakeskin effect to it, but I am not very happy with the colour I chose, as I can't help feeling like it looks like a flattened corn on the cob!

To break up this first layer of print I decided to paint some ink on with a brush. I started off just painting lines, but thought they needed to go off somewhere, so have ended up with all directions. I also added some wispy lines down the edge of the original stripes to add to the hand painterly effect.

Why stop there when you've got a cork? I cut a cross shape into a cork and stamped a random pattern within the white lines to add further interest.

To be honest, I should have stopped here I think and this is where sampling is crucial, because I would have realised that the next step was a step too far. If only I had sampled! Sometimes pushing an idea can really work for the best, so I decided to go for it!

Using a cotton bud, I dipped directly into the ink and dabbed randomly amongst the crosses in green. Of course, deciding that I could do more still, I added some more dabs in flouro orange.

I really don't know how I feel about this print. I kind of like it, but at the same time I really don't like the yellow cob print. It's a bit too busy, but I have not tried layering prints before and really think that this idea has huge potential. Something to play with and some new techniques under my belt!

I'm going to try making it into something and then I'll know if it's a grower.

This is how many cotton bud I used. Not bad!