Sun Prints

Some time last year I told here about a method of printing fabrics with the help of sunlight. I took an afternoon course a couple of years ago and last week I wanted to try it again on my own. Here comes a little tutorial.

First I covered a metal plate with a bin liner to avoid rust stains.





Then I attached my fabric on the surface with some masking tape and sprayed it with water.


After this I used protective gloves, changing to a new pair every time they were stained so I wouldn't ruin my print.

I used textile paints, adding colour pigments to a basic spray emulsion.

I kept adding pigments to get different autumn shades.

This fabric was too big to work on in the sun, the fabric and colour dried before I added the darkest shade so the colour change was not smooth. I placed leaves on the fabric to stay there until the colour had dried completely.

It was too windy to let it dry ourdoors in the sun, so I had to take my project indoors.

This is the result. The colour will disappear under the leaves (or whatever you decide to place on the fabric). Here are some closeups. Rowan:

Birch:

Oak:

Something was different this time, because my prints from the class look like this:

and this

We used glass panes there, and the work was done indoors so everything was kept exactly in place; and the fabric was really flat on the glass. My bin liner was probably not flat enough to make such clear pictures. I'll be wiser next time. This tutorial is "Don't do like I do, but like I tell you to do"!

The printed fabric needs to be ironed to fasten the colour. I may use the prints for a table runner or a bag or something. I tried to position the leaves so that I could cut squares of the fabric.

This week I have hand sewn the binding on the Giraffe quilt, machine sewn binding to the Lion and giraffe strip quilt, and crocheted some granny squares for the second orphanage blanket. On Wednesday I visited my mother and came back home with some (a lot of) fabrics and unfinished projects of hers. I also found a box with my old dresses from the late 60's, too small for anyone to wear. There may be something to show on VTT!

Yesterday was my Back to school -day, because it was the first night of the sewing group to meet. I started cutting and sewing the sweet elephant quilt Miri designed. It will be my third Orphanage quilt.