How To Stamp Your Own Fabric (Part 1)

Hiya! Last Friday I blogged about the hand stamped scarf/snood I made. Today I thought I would share with you how I printed the fabric, and what you'll need if you wanted to do the same or something similar.

What I used .....

• 2* meters of light/medium weight muslin
• Selection of wooden block Rubber stamps (I used two medium sized stamps)
• Stamping ink pads (suitable for use on fabric)
• Large sheet of card or paper to stop the ink from bleeding onto other surfaces
• Damp cloth to wipe up any messy from the ink 

 

 First I made a test sample just to see how the ink would behave on the fabric, generally on a plain cotton the ink should be fine with no bleeding or feathering, but it's always good to try it first! This also a good time to try out what colour combinations to use and how to place the stamps. 

To achieve the multicoloured stamp I used an ink pad that has five small colour inks on one pad!

Once you've worked out if your fabric is suitable to stamp on, it's time to cut the scarf out

I used a snood scarf I already had as a guide for length it was approx 36" folded in half and 24" width.  It was the same scarf that gave me the inspiration for hand stamping and creating my own.

The scarf is the bigger piece of mateial

My fabric wasn't wide enough to achieve the 36" on the fold width ways so I folded the fabric in half length ways and placed my snood on top and marked off where I needed to cut!

I decided to stamp the fabric before sewing it up (beware this part does take longer than you think, but it is enjoyable in a calming sort of way I promise). I began stamping by first placing the card under the fabric in the area I was about to start in and using just the one stamp, I worked my way first across the fabric then down it whilst moving the card along with it. To get an even ink coverage I re inked the stamp every time I used it!

Once I had covered the the material using the main stamp I then went back over the material with the other design filling in the gaps,  because I used a darker colour for the second design I didn't need to stamp so many of them, just enough to break the colour up.

Once the stamping was complete I draped the material over the radiator and left to dry for 24hrs (I swear this wait is the longest) once the ink was air dry I set my iron to medium setting and along with a pressing cloth I gave the fabric a good iron to set the heat set the ink. (hopefully this should mean the ink won't run when it's washed, I should really test a sample but I'll take a chance!)

 And there we have it one piece of stamped and heat set fabric, Simples! 

Alternative ideas/ tips....

Not fussed on the idea of using muslin, then try a lightweight 100% cotton, fancy something more up market? Try crepe chiffon, or a Georgette material. You may want to sample the fabric first and you might want to try a little less ink on your stamp to avoid feathering. You could even try fabric remnants from your stash like silks to see how the ink behaves you never know you might find the result quite artistic.

For a faded washed out stamp effect try lightly pressing your stamp on to the ink pad which gives a faded out look!

You can combine stamps images to create your own art work, like using a flower stamp with a butterfly and/or a bee and make it look like the butterfly and bee is hovering round the flower. You can also buy acrylic stamps (check out the haberdashery one) which are adhesive and acrylic blocks to stick them too and create your own scenes like owls trees and grass.

You could even go free hand with your design using fabric paint or tie dye techniques or even try simple shapes like stars and moons cut from potatoes to create stamps! 

Part 2 is next.....Sewing the scarf and creating a French seam.