Play and guided discovery is how new things are invented. If you follow all the rules, then it is hard to create something new.

That is why I love gelatin printmaking.

With just a few tools and a pile of recycled fabric I can explore imagery, layering, composition and mark making with immediate feedback.

1. This immediate result allows for active learning and adjustment.
2. I don’t have to wait for things to develop like with some dyeing processes.
3. I don’t have to spend hours planning and carving one design like with block printing.
4. I don’t need the planning and set up of screen printing.

My most favorite tools are found object stencils, grasses, threads and feathers. I can combine these with a few other marks and have hours of printmaking fun.

I like to use 100 percent cotton sheets, the old ones that you can find at a boutique thirft store. This makes the materials less precious and creates a freedom to explore. I can print with abandon, and if the layering idea did not work, then no loss. It was not a precious, expensive piece of fabric.

I like the exploration so much that I have piles of fabric prints that could be transformed into a finished product. Seven project ideas for monoprints on fabric:

1. Stitch, mat and frame
2. Stitch, piece and cover a journal
3. Trim and make into and iron on patch for a tote bag
4. Cut and quilt into coasters
5. Rip and wrap into fabric balls
6. Crop and combine into pillow covers
7. Sew and quilt into table runners

What about you? Do you have fiber projects that would be transformed by using one of a kind monoprinted fabrics of your own making?

Do you want to print your own Fabrics?

Get the instruction, support and encouragement you need to succeed!

Monoprinting on Fabric - online printmaking course 

• Make  & modify the glycerin and gelatin plate
• Make the most of your marks on fabric
• Capture the details with mere hand pressure
• Create one of a kind fabrics

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Additionally, you will receive a weekly email about printmaking, ideas, tips and courses.

Join us today and start having fun!

This past week I was making hand printed fabric pillow covers. It was fun to hand draw the text on to freezer paper. Then cut out and iron on to the fabric.

I recycled the pillow forms from local thrift stores and Extra’s For creative Reuse. The fabric was a table cloth and curtain panel.

Freezer paper can be ironed on to the fabric to be used as a one time stencil. It is easy to cut too.

I did quick color tests on a scrap piece of fabric. I think that all the colors work. It just depends on the message and effect that I want to create. Subtle colors are good to use at the beginning because they hide mistakes.

The next class that I will be offering is Monoprinting Fabric. Check out the details and mark your calendar.