Print Shop

I love fabric. I’ve spent hours at my computer screen drooling over fabrics I will never have. Those featured at True Up make me feel light-headed. Anna Maria Horner fabrics make my heart swell. Sometimes my dreams are colored by Echino prints and patterns. Sadly, all the amazing fabric I find is out of my price range. Even creating my own prints at Spoonflower or Fabric on Demand is pricier than I can justify with my amateur sewing skills. You can believe that the moment I learn how to make a dress I would proudly have someone other than myself wear, I might consider spending $25 per yard on fabric. Until then, though, I’m going to do the best with what I have.

Screen printing has been really appealing for a while, but lack of start-up supplies is keeping me from diving right in. Sometimes I have to encourage myself to start small on certain projects because more often than not I get wildly excited about something only to find out I only like it in theory. So I started small this time and decided to try some block printing instead.The Big League Chew in my last post was the pile of pink Speedball Speedy-Carve Block Print I cut away to make a 3X5 flower.


First I sketched in my notebook a very simple pattern I thought could work on napkins or towels. Once I was satisfied with the design, I re-traced it heavily with pencil, then pressed the Speedy Carve block onto the pencil, transferring the image. Then I carved away.

The first part of the project seemed to go so seamlessly that I had no worries about part number two, but that’s the part I really should have been concerned about.


While Regan slaved over sauteed veggies and salmon for dinner tonight, and cut up a fresh pile of strawberries for dessert, I sat in the other room not helping at all. I was spending my time becoming more and more frustrated with the mediocre results I was getting with my first attempt at fabric printing. Imperfections and ink smudges litter the landscape of the fabric and the vibrant ink color I thought I’d created was a muted purple, bordering on brown. However, for a first attempt I guess I really shouldn’t be too down. We now have a one-of-a-kind collection of kitchen towels cut from a linen tablecloth I got from Goodwill. And now I know what works and what doesn’t for when I attempt round number two. I’ll not give up on my dream of amazing fabric so easily. Baby steps, right?


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5 responses to “Print Shop”

  1. Eric Murray Avatar

    I knew it was a lino-cut! Looks awesome, Claire, even with the imperfections.

    1. Claire Avatar
      Claire

      Thanks, Eric!

  2. Amber Avatar

    I would gladly wear anything you make! Please make me something!

    1. Claire Avatar
      Claire

      You design something around one of your fab accessories and I’ll make it!

  3. maryannk Avatar
    maryannk

    I agree with Eric – I think it looks very cool, even with a few smudges. Actually works really well with the texture of the linen.

    YOu’ll get there! It was only your first attempt. And I totally get the Big League Chew thing. Hehehe.

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