Stencil Fabric Printing ~

MarveLes Art Studios Blogs, Mixing It Up 12 Comments

Hi there!

In celebration of Terri’s new stencils, and a ‘preview’ to you all for my Monday post… I’m showing more of what I call “Custom Fabric” creations, using these super easy “Tumble Dye’s sprays” which I first saw on Terri Stegmiller’s blog.
{Thank you again, Terri!}
 
But first, here is some info on this dye product, as posted on Amazon: “SEI’s Tumble-Dye is an easy and permanent tie-dye for use on fabrics, ribbon, lace, trims, silks, dried flowers, baskets, wood, paper and more. Tumble-Dye is a pre-mixed tie-dye and eliminates the need of rubber gloves, salts and tubs of hot water. Create your tie-dye design by spraying, dipping, or painting. After the article is completely dry, simply heat set in a dryer for 20 minutes or iron with a hot iron. Tumble-Dye is a non-toxic and enviromentallly safe. Mix colors or dilute with water for even more color options.”

and my favorite fabric to play with is a ‘white on white’ commercial print, shown here:

Totally psyched about the texture that pops up with the white writing that was on this print… {wonder if I can find more of this beauty!?} Love! {especially like the dark/light green on this}  This is such an exciting part of the process… “the reveal” almost makes me giddy…

And then… more excitment! Here‘s another cool fabric,  with black text in it.  Equally interesting and stunning in it’s own right!

I’m dancing the Stencil Three-Step!  1. Lay the stencil down; spray.  2. Turn the stencil over, and brayer it, then 3. spray {lightly} again.  

I’ve learned this method works best if you begin spraying at least 10-12 inches away.  And clean up your nozzles with a damp rag to keep them clear.  I had some ‘straight shooters’ as the nozzle got a little clogged; they don’t play well, as they tend to spatter/blur the images with too much paint.

You may also want to protect the surrounding area outside of where the stencil lays, {like use a manilla folder} from any overspray. {or not~i didn’t, but I’m a little more of an adventuresome sort}.  Using a folder will give you ‘lines’ of separation, and I don’t really like that, instead I prefer the overspray onto the next printing from the stencil.

Uhmmm yum.  I just so wish this was the way for me to diet.  I swear {well, not really} I could live on fabric alone!!  {lol}

Lighter… and darker.  I’m not crazy about the dark, but I still think it’s very cool.

Below, I tried the same technique on linen fabric, and it has it’s own appeal, truly!  {this would make a lovely rug… and that’s what I’m thinkin’ about}.  Or even a fun hand-towel, with some trim and whatnot on it, right? It would certainly be a bright spot in a kitchen, or in someone’s valentine’s gift? What do you think?

And even when the colors get a little muddy… it’s cool. Oh yes, I should say ~ if you don’t want this … you must be more disciplined about cleaning off the brayer, in between colors.  {guilty!}

Remember, the Tumble Dye product is heat-set, too.  With an iron, or you could use your dryer. Easy-peasy.  {But I love to press them.  It gives me more time to fondle & admire the beautiful colors and patterns}

Sometimes, the weave in the fabric dictates how the dye will spread, some more than others. The linen definitely blurred… but {I like it all!}.  Anyone interested in getting some of this fabric to create with

Lovin’ my playtime. {as always} 
It’s time to clean up the studio a bit, organize, and enjoy turning my new custom fabrics into ‘something-something’ and add to the giveaway, too!  That is, if I can stop playing with the stencils!
~EnJOY whatever is on your table~
Pssst: don’t forget to go by Terri’s blog tomorrow for the kickoff party!
XO 
Leslie

Comments 12

  1. Gone are the days of the old-fashioned printing press; but there is no doubt that the printer – the kind that is always used in connection with computers – continues to be used the masses. But if you are writing material which are you are truly looking to "sell" (i.e. for money) it is wise to refer to one of many commercial printing tutorials available on the Internet and surely elsewhere. "Commercial printing" itself is a step beyond desktop printing – one requires the services of a service bureau and / or commercial printer together with commercial printing processes including offset printing. It is of course up to the writer to be familiar with the subject matter being written about, but (proper) commercial printing has its own vocabulary, just like so many other things in life: take your time perusing definitions of "file preparation", "separations" and "finishing", for example.

    boston commercial printing

  2. Oooh, nice. I am a little confused on technique….when you say, turn the stencil over..you mean ink side down (after you spray it the first time?) Then are you using the brayer on the clean side of the stencil to transfer the ink from the first round? Can you tell I've never done this? A newbie to stenciling on fabric. Looks like so much fun, tho'. Thanks for this fun post.

  3. Your fabrics look terrific – especially with an interesting WOW or black text on white resist. I'm glad you showed the results with both light and dark dyes. I think we're all looking forward to Terri's blog party with these stencils. 🙂
    Kim / SeeingStars

  4. Their all so scrumptous. I've been playing with my own stencils. I use fabric paint that I mix myself because that's all I've got. It sure is fun though.

  5. What a yummy post with all those delicious colors and shapes! I follow Terri's blog and have been thinking about purchasing some of her stencils. I've even been to the Stencil Girl website to check them out. Your posts about them have certainly been inspiring, and I'm looking forward to the Stencil Blog Hop.

    I've never been interested in fabric dyeing but the ease of those Tumble dyes is changing my mind. I like the way the overspray gently blends with its surroundings.

    I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!
    D~~~~

  6. I'm ooooh-ing and aaaah-ing with each picture in this post Leslie!!! You are having way too much fun. Love it! Keep going!

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