BLOCK- PRINTED SWEATSHIRT
A new look for a tired jumper, no sweat
“CREATE A ONE-OFF ITEM THAT WILL SHOW OFF YOUR HANDIWORK”
You will need:
Sweatshirt or similar item
Soft linoleum slightly larger than your image (or see alternatives below)
3B pencil
White bond paper
Lino carving tool with changeable cutting nibs (try bakerross.co.uk, or use woodworking tools)
Craft knife
Fabric ink
Plate for spreading the ink
Spatula
Small foam roller (approx 5cm / 2in) wide), or a foam brush
Pillowcase or scrap fabric
Iron
1 To transfer your image onto the linoleum you can draw directly onto the block with a pencil or marker, or trace your design with carbon paper. Our preferred method is to trace the outline (download our template at thesimplethings.com/blog/ blockprinttemplate) onto paper with a soft graphite pencil, making sure to colour in areas that you want to print. Place the lino face down on the drawing and flip it over so that the back of your drawing is facing up. Using a soft pencil, draw or rub over the entire back of the drawing. This will transfer your drawing onto the linoleum surface and will automatically reverse the image so the print will appear correctly – important if you have any text in the image.
2 To create the print block, you need to remove the areas of the lino that don’t form the pattern. Using the #3 cutting nib, and working away from you, remove the non-pattern areas by pushing the tool into the block deep enough so that the tip of the tool almost disappears. This will ensure that the cut away areas are not too shallow and will stay clear of unwanted ink during printing.
3 If there are any large areas to be cut away, remove them with the #5 cutting nib. Then clean up any details and edges with a craft knife, if needed.
4 Pour some fabric ink onto the plate and spread it out with the spatula. Roll the foam roller over the ink until it is evenly covered, then roll the ink onto the printing block, covering all raised areas with a generous amount of ink.
5 Make test prints on scrap fabric to gauge how much ink and how much pressure you will need. Keep in mind that you will need to reapply ink onto the block every time you do a print if you want a consistent depth of tone over the whole garment, otherwise subsequent prints will be quite faded. Alternatively, you can ink every other print if you would like to create different tones within the piece.
6 Place your first print anywhere on the garment. Press down firmly and don’t move the block. Lift it up cleanly in one motion.
7 Once you’ve printed as much as you wish, let the ink dry thoroughly. Place an old pillowcase or a piece of scrap fabric on top of the printed area and heat set the ink by pressing with an iron over the front and back of the garment using a high heat with no steam. This last step will make your design permanent so that it won’t wash out in the laundry.
Maker’s note: Soft linoleum makes a great printing block as it’s easy to carve into and can be reused over and over. Alternatively, you can use potatoes, or unusually textured scrap materials: the likes of foam food trays or cardboard can be cut into shapes and made into a printing block.