BLOCK PRINTING FABRIC

Block printing fabric made easy with simple blocks made from precut
adhesive craft foam and foam core board.

Hand printed fabric can be made in a number of ways.  Block printing fabric is a quick and simple way to get started.  Block printing fabric can be achieved by using either fabric dyes, fabric paints, or textile inks. The blocks themselves can be easily made from readily available materials.  A simply method is to purchase precut pieces of adhesive-backed craft foam and apply the patterns to foam core board.  After creating your block, be sure to coat both sides with several costs of matte media, otherwise the foam core board will take on moisture from the print media and quickly disintegrate.

Foam core printmaking blocks are good to use for small projects but they are not very durable.  If you are looking for a block printmaking process that is quick and do not want to built up an inventory of blocks, these are essentially "disposable."  I have used mine for up to one year and they printed about six yards of 60" wide fabric.

While they are quick to make, the main drawback is that they are not transparent.  In order to register the blocks you will have to use a T-bar or notch method.  My overall preference is to use transparent blocks.  In a later post I will show you some of these which are made from clear plexiglass.

HAND PRINTED FABRIC TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

Hand printed cotton fabric by artist Cherie Porter Blackwell  features an
 infinitely repeating pattern of abstract landscape designs
originally hand drawn and then transfer to screen printing film.

Applying traditional printmaking methods to fabrics allows an almost unlimited potential for rethinking and repurposing materials for a variety of applications.  Creating a sufficient amount of hand printed fabric can be done easily with screen printing.  The key skills in this process is an understanding of pattern repeat design, color management, and careful fabric selection. 

Rethinking the screen printing frame is key to simplifying the process.  This method lies outside the normal view that is common with screen printers from the commercial t-shirt industry.  Gone are the need for minute calibrations on a roulette printing stand.  Thinking outside this box, the screen frame becomes a kind of monoprint/monotype matrix which can be hand-held or possibly used with a traditional serigraphy press.

What will separate the artist's unique expression on fabric from the more craft-oriented or commercial fabric approach will of course have a lot to do with vision and application.  We would expect to see image making that is deeper in its artistic statement, highly conceptual, and offering elements of surprise.  Another way to say this is that there is really a lot of printed fabric in the world.  How will you make your mark and hold a strong voice in a field that is still dominated by large scale commercial fabric companies?

Once you have settled on your visual statement, try making your first set of fabrics with simply materials such as hand-cut stencils and one-step textile screen printing inks.  Pull the screens with a medium squeegee on a cushioned printmaking table.  Then take a look at the amount of ink that has be laid down.  You want a smooth application without excess.  If too much is in laid down, either modify your pulling technique or starting thinking about going a harder squeegee or print surface.