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.