Screen Printing Fabric

I created (what I thought) was a faux marble drawing, then made a thermofax screen out of it.
The photos above show my sample prints on cotton jersey (with a tiny bit of lycra in it).

I liked it, very much actually, so I proceeded to print the entire piece of fabric. My plan is to use it to make a shirt or tunic. Or use parts of it on a couple of shirts...I'll make good use of it for sure.

Here are a few shots of the yardage after it dried.

I love the areas where the paint left ghost prints! I don't know
if you can tell on the photo but in person, it is just beautiful.

I heat set it but now, according to the instructions for Pro Chem fabric paint, I have to wait 2 weeks to launder! I usually do not wash the fabric that I screen print as it is mainly for fiber art.
And, yes, I had to write it in on the calendar so I wouldn't forget...

My son suggested that I use this base for a 3D print- adding the appropriate blue and a little green. I'll bet it would look great but I will have to pass this time around. Sounds like too much work for me.
It would be cool to have a 3D shirt though...I'd have to carry around my 3D glasses for people to look through.
That might be a cool rainy day project to keep in mind (says the woman that had to write herself a reminder to launder fabric in 2 weeks).

I am also working on several other screens to create one of a kind yardage for making clothing.
I will try to get some photos as I create it.

Love Affairs

As women, we have many love affairs in our lives.

What?!
You haven't?

Oh but you have, my friends!

Let's not limit ourselves to love affairs with people in this conversation, shall we?
Think of all that you love - reading, drawing, painting, sewing, gardening, writing, our female friends...we have a multitude of things that we love, that we share a passion for.

One of mine is sewing.
I have sewn since I was a young girl. My mom taught me to sew when I was, oh maybe 7 or 8.
I did create a few doll dresses by hand before that (albeit crude ones).
I loved them though.
They actually laid the foundation for a fire that has burned for decades (she said demurely) and is still flaming today.

The love of creating something beautiful.
The love of creating with my hands.
The love of creating.
Period.

It is difficult for me to allow a couple of days to pass without puttering around in my studio.
It may be on seemingly mundane tasks but they fall within the realm of "creating".
Making.
Doing.


I have made a few pieces of apparel through the years and always had the desire to make more.
What held me back, you ask?
Skill, single-mindedness, level of desire....to name a few.
The biggest one was an early failure.


But I have continued to purchase patterns in a sporadic manner throughout the years, fantasizing about the next shirt I sew or the beautiful lines of a dress.
Just to have the pattern sit there, collecting dust (and my guilt).

The last few weeks have changed all of that!
I signed up for a FANTASTIC Craftsy class that reset my brain in regards to making clothing.

If you have any interest in  making a shirt for yourself (a knit one) you MUST take this class!
(I do not receive any compensation from Craftsy)

Katheryn and Marcy Tilton are such wonderful teachers!
You receive a pattern with your class fee and they walk you through, step by step, the entire project.
You can ask questions in the class format and they answer them within a day or two.
Their instruction assisted me in creating a sample tee (I used the first shirt as a sample to learn new techniques and not worry about making it "perfect")
(who am I kidding - none of my projects will be "perfect" but they will be close enough for me!)

I found a Groupon deal for the Craftsy site.
You can purchase up to three classes for $45.
Again, I do not receive and compensation if you purchase anything. I'm just passing on a good deal.
Which, by the way, does not last much longer.
The regular retail price is $50 for the class, so this is a great deal.

I don't have any photos of my finished shirts but I do have a sketchbook page showing how I decided which fabrics to use.

The Tilton sisters often use three (or more) fabrics on each shirt. I love this idea and fully embraced it when making my shirts.
But I couldn't decide which fabrics to use (or remember them after I auditioned numerous ones) so this way worked great for me.

The pattern is for a shirt length top but I added more length to one of mine making it tunic length. The one on my machine now is long enough to be a dress.

I am really enjoying making a few items of clothing this time around thanks to Marcy and Katherine Tilton (and Craftsy).

Rusty Goodness

I love the color of rust.
I love the depth of color that you can get when rusting fabric.
Here is a sampling of what I did with some of the rust that I have collected.

This is cotton jersey with a bit of spandex.
I am making scarves out of the fabric - they are beautiful.
And so soft after washing, no hard particles of rust on/in these.
I have several scarves made from the fabric and I love them all. A couple of them are embellished with a technique that I wrote a magazine article about. It's coming out later this year.
These are about 9 inches and the length varies (shortest one is about 70 inches).
If you're interested in purchasing one, shoot me an email.
I will send you photos of the finished scarf.
The price is $45.