We have been block printing using Speedy-Carve, Moo Carve blocks and Mastercut to test how each of them works. All three are carving blocks for making
stamps and prints. We used:
-
Speedball Speedy-Carve, Moo Carve block and Master Cut
- Lino cutter with five blades
- Pencil for drawing out designs
- Versa Craft ink pads
- Fabric or paper to print on – we used cotton
We used our lino cutters with five blades to carve our blocks. Tricky designs were drawn on with pencil so we didn’t mess up – don’t press too hard though
or you could dent the block! We experimented with positive and negative designs by carving lines into the block and carving around a shape. This should
give us different effects when printing.
Moo Carve:
Really easy to carve with not a lot of pressure needed. Great for tiny detail. The block did crumble a little when carving the edges but this was easily
cleaned up with a scalpel. This block is thicker and so can be carved on both sides.
Speedy Carve:
Very smooth and easy to cut. Easy to carve tiny detail. A little firmer to carve than the other two.
Master Cut:
Wonderfully smooth and easy to carve. Great for fluid, clean lines, tiny detail and round shapes.
These are our finished blocks:
Moo Carve:
Speedy Carve:
Master Cut:
We used Versa Craft Ink Pads to print our blocks. These worked really well and we found that the prints were really opaque – a lot better than other ink
pads we have used before. It was also less messy than rolling out ink and left no washing up to do! Moo Carve was especially easy to stamp with because
of the extra thickness.
By placing the block onto the ink pad and gently pressing we were able to get an even coverage (we had to move the larger block along the pad to make sure
it was all covered).
We placed the blocks on cotton fabric print side down and pressed all over. If your design has a right way up make sure to draw an arrow on the back so
you don’t print it upside down!
We love the way our printed blocks have turned out! All three blocks have printed really well. Our blue Moo Carve print is a little more patchy than the
red the others because needed a little more ink.
We even tried turning them into repeat patterns.
The Master Cut block was rotated to create a repeat pattern:
This design and the Moo Carve design would be great in repeat to use in projects like cushion covers or bags. The blocks were given a quick rinse so we
can use the again to make more fabric.
Make sure to iron your final images if you print them on fabric. This way they can be put through the wash and used for whatever you like.
Voila! Have a go with Speedball Speedy-Carve, Moo Carve and Master Cut yourself!