Stencilling, Stamping and Altering Fabric

Many textile artists and embroiderers have fabrics in their stash that no longer inspire them to create. Sometimes it is easy to alter them and give them a new life. The simplest is to look at the back of the fabric, the reverse can often provide a subtle and textured background or perhaps a sky. Overdyeing can also be effective. This month in our meeting we looked at using paint, inks and traditional paper craft mediums for work that will not be washed.

First up was a discussion about various mediums and techniques with lots of samples to refer to and then a few demonstrations.

Then it was time for everyone to try out the techniques that interested them.

Over stamping using acrylic paint mixed with textile medium

Stencilling

Mono printing

Painting or sponging 

Carol took a considered approach

And then tried everything or so it seemed

 

And for something completely different

Constructed fabric from Jenny using her needle felting machine

Detail of Laurene’s white work, lace cut outs attached to background fabric. The piece is quite long and perhaps a scroll.

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More Machine Embroidery

This month was a follow on session for machine embroidery. There were some bowls created after last month’s tutorial.

 

And the concept taken a little further and made into jelly fish, a great interpretation for our theme From the Sea.

Some fish

More free machine stitch

Using grids as a basis for stitch

Collage, machine stitch techniques 

Hard at work

Some fabulous baskets from Jo. 

Machine Embroidery

For the next few sessions the focus of the program will be on FreeMachine Embroidery. Leonie led the group through the basics of machine embroidery and the steps involved in the making of a sculptural bowl shape and a few tips and tricks to get us started.

The bowl starts with layers of thread, snippets of fabric made into a soluble fabric such as Wash Away.

The sandwich is then free machine embroidered with interlocking circles which hold the trapped threads together when the soluble fabric is rinsed away

Then the soluble fabric is rinsed away. Thorough rinsing will create a softer more lace like product, less rinsing will make the embroidery stiffer and have more structure.

Then shaped over a bowl or glass to create the moulded shape.

The embroidery is then left to dry. When dry the structure can be worked into with stitch, embellished with beads or reinforced with fine wire.

Leonie demonstrated using thick threads in the bobbin, winding a bobbin by hand and making sure not to thread through the tension slot. This creates a thick pattern on the underneath which then becomes the right side.

There was some discussion about using the embroidery stitches built into the machine.

More inspiration from Leonie

Thanks to Leonie for her preparation and great introduction machine embroidery.

Top tip, use titanium needles.

Rhonda came with her Boro bag for Show and Tell

Gelli print extravaganza

Thank you to Kerrie for all her preparation and an inspiring demonstration of a range of techniques on the gelli plates. Less is definitely not more when it comes to gelli printing, the more layers the better in most cases!

Kerrie demonstrating Gelli printing

Textures and colours

After her excellent presentation we all got seriously to work and the results were quite outstanding from just 1-2 hours:

Gelli prints

More gelli prints

Pauline brought her in progress fabric pages from last month’s meeting on using a variety of pencils and crayons on fabric, looking amazing!

Pauline’s Inktense pages

Jenny combined colour, fabric and free machine stitching to create some fabulous flowers:

Jenny’s flowers

Just a reminder that in April we will be having a ‘stitch’ week where we can work into our artistic cloth and paper (stitch on paper too!) and perhaps transform into a form- a book, 3D, postcard, ATC. Bring along all your bits and bobs and be inspired by how others transform their pieces.

Colour on fabric-pencils and crayons

Our first meeting of the year saw much experimentation with drawing and colouring on fabric with an assortment of water soluble pencils, crayons and blocks. Gillian gave an excellent demonstration of many techniques and effects.

Inktense pencil demo

Our theme for this year is ‘Of the Sea’ which allows for a broad range of interpretation. Gillian brought many ‘sea’ books to inspire as well.

Our experimentation was on A4 size interfaced fine cotton percale and ‘catcher sheets’ for washing machines with ATC, postcard or book pages marked up.

Interfaced cotton

On catcher sheets

We used a variety of colouring tools including Inktense pencils and crayons, water soluble pencils, water soluble crayons and watercolour paints. Rubbing crayons over textured wallpaper worked well. Mediums used to spread the colour included water- greatest spread, textile medium-slightly less spread and aloe vera gel-minimal spread. We tried barriers to the spread such as the inktense liner pencil and the oil based watercolour crayons with some success on our pictures.

On the right-using stamps

After finishing and heat setting some of these may be further enhanced with hand or machine stitch. Robyn’s finished Japanese silks boro bag was much admired. Great use of recycling and I love the cotton crochet doily featured.

Robyn’s Boro bag

Next meeting will be gelli printing, watch out for a recipe and info from Kerrie via email. Those who took pieces of the fantastic textured wallpaper samples Jill shared bring them along, they are excellent for gelli printing. Also for next meeting read the list and think about where we will head for the second half of our meeting/workshops.

The Christmas Finale

The final meeting for 2018 was a celebration, afternoon tea, planning for 2019 and show and tell. We had a little challenge for those who had the time and energy in the lead up to Christmas. The challenge was a book ( scroll) or members interpretation of of a book in a tin or box. Loosely themed around the 12 days of a Stitcher’s Christmas.

From Gillian

Jo’s was still in progress

Jenny concertina book with pockets, the pockets contained stitched images from the 12 Twelve Days of Christmas.

Carol produced a flag and a concertina book.

Pauline made a scroll

Laurene made a stitched scroll

These two from Kerrie

The was some other show and tell to admire, framed pieces from Jenny and some Boro bags from Carol and Laurene.

Boro Stitching

The focus for the September meeting was Boro stitching with the intention of constructing a bag from the stitched cloth in the October meeting.  Boro is an old Japanese technique of mending and repair that uses scraps of cloth and Sashiko stitching or running stitch to extend the life of the fabric or garment.

This bag is made from small pieces of indigo dyed Japanese fabrics.

Jo led the session, demonstrating the construction of the base cloth. The idea was to create a base of fabric pieces or scraps stitched down onto a base cloth using running stitch ( Sashiko)

Base cloth in production.

A finished base cloth, ready to be made into a bag.

Finished bag

Another bag in production.

Some samples of mended and patched fabric, quite small pieces and probably will not be made into a bag.