We had a ton of fun experimenting with today’s tutorial. After hearing feedback from clients over the years that have used screen printing ink and an ink brayer to print with their stamps vs. using a stamp pad, we figured that it was high time to try it for ourselves. The process and results are fun and the options for using the technique are endless. Today, we’re using three of our pattern stamps on linen fabric to make a gorgeous, custom floral print! –Bailey and Emma of Antiquaria
Materials
Fabric (we used linen – but cotton fabric would also work)
Disposable spoon (or one you don’t plan to eat with again)
Scrap Paper
Iron & Scrap of Cloth
Step 1. Spoon some of ink onto the disposable palette. With the back of the spoon, smear the ink in a rectangle, down the center. Using the brayer, roll the ink onto the palette until you get a thin film of ink in the center. Now you’re ready to start printing!
Step 2. First test your overall pattern on a small piece of fabric. Lay the fabric over a scrap piece of paper to protect the table from ink stains. Lightly use the brayer to roll ink onto your stamp. Start with the largest (most dominant) stamp, before using smaller stamps to fill in the pattern. Place the stamp down, and stamp it as if you were printing on a sheet of paper using moderate and even pressure. Lift the stamp and re-apply ink.
Step 3. Begin stamping on your fabric. Start with the largest stamp (we used our Camellia pattern stamp) until you’ve covered your entire piece of fabric. Use the next smallest stamp (we used our Daisy pattern stamp) to start filling in the negative spaces. The last stamp was our Small Leaves Pattern stamp. Because it’s small, it make a wonderful filler and allows you to really balance the overall design. We found that dipping into the thin layer of ink works best for the small stamps vs. using the brayer.
Step 4. Heat set the ink once you’ve finished printing all of your fabric according to the manufacturers instructions. In our case, we used a dry iron and a scrap piece of fabric.
This technique excites us so much and we can’t help thinking of all of the possible uses for our very own customized fabric! Imagine stamping your monogram onto linen napkins for your wedding, making tote bags for your bridesmaids, incorporating the print into your handmade wardrobe or even making custom print fabric envelopes for your invitation!
Photo Credits: Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper
