Block Printing Tutorial

Several people have asked me how I created the fabric shown in the following post, so I decided to create this little tutorial.

Before stamping, this (above) is what the fabric looked like. It was painted with thickened dye leftover from another project. Kind of funky looking, and the dye didn't cover the whole fabric, so there are white areas.

I spread the fabric on my printing table, which is actually just a 3 x 4' piece of plywood that I have covered with 2 layers of cotton batting.

Then, I poured three colors of paint into my palate. I use a disposable paper or plastic plate as my palate. I use it over and over until I finally toss it. The paint I use is Pebeo Setacolor Paint - which is made in France. I like to use the Opaque paints combined with the Transparent paints for interesting effects - and also combine with Jacquard Lumiere paints - which are metallic. All of these paints will leave the hand of the fabric soft and natural.

I use a wide foam sponge (also disposable, however I use these many many times before they start falling apart). This one is 4" wide, which is the width of my printing block.

I bounce the brush into the paint a bit to get it to start blending and to penetrate the brush.

I then apply the paint to the printing block. I like to use a pouncing motion to make sure there is enough, but not too much paint and the printing block should be evenly coated.

Lay the block face down on the fabric and apply pressure.

As those colors get used up, I would switch to different (but similar colors) and keep going until the fabric is covered, as you can see in the previous post.