Block Printed Chair

If you’re a lover of relief printing (or would like to be) but squeezing little prints through a press isn’t your thing, here’s an idea for block printing
that’s a little different:

We recently got hold of a couple of lovely old chairs that were in need of a little TLC. We’re using a piece of SoftCut Lino and Caligo Relief Inks to revamp this one!

Here’s how to do it it:

We used a piece of 75x75mm SoftCut Lino.
We used SoftCut because it’s easy to carve and can be bent around curves – perfect for the design of this chair. Use a soft pencil to draw your design
onto the SoftCut.

Use a lino tool with a deep V shape to
carve the edges of your design.

Use a larger, flatter U shape tool to clear all the areas that you don’t want to print.

Mix up your ink. We are using Caligo Relief Inks which are completely lovely to work with and easy to mix into the perfect shade. They’re oil based but water soluble so they’re easy to clean up with
water.

When you have mixed your shade, roll out a small area of the ink onto your glass or palette. It shouldn’t be squelchingly thick – you should hear a satisfying
zzzz sound when rolling.

Roll your ink onto your block. You can use a paper towel to remove any unwanted ink from the cut away parts of the stamp.

Place the stamp face down on the chair. We measured out the centre and started here at the bottom of the chair. The SoftCut is perfect for this as it can be bent round the curve of the wood!

Press all over the back of the stamp with the flat of your hand. Be careful to hold the stamp still! The wooden surface can be slippery and the stamp can
sometimes slide (luckily the ink can be immediately wiped off with a damp cloth in case of any slips – phew!)

Place the next stamp alongside the first one and repeat. Take care not the smudge the previous print as it will take a while to dry.

It gets a lot easier once you get onto the flat of the chair.

Bend the SoftCut around any more curved bits of wood, making sure it doesn’t slip.

Here is the seat of our chair!

We turned out chair upside down to print the back so that it was flat and therefore a much easier surface to work on.

You can use just part of your stamp to fill in the last little spaces. Just position it where the next stamp would go.

Our final chair!

You will need:

Colour Blending with Versacraft and Mastercut

There is so much that you can do with Versacraft Ink Pads. You can use them to print on paper, shrink
plastic, polymer clay, wood, porcelain, leather and fabric. Our latest project for these versatile ink pads is colour blending. Here’s how we used
Mastercut andVersacraft to make a printed
tea towel:

Start by drawing onto your stamping material with a soft pencil. We are using a piece of 100x100mm Mastercut.

Cut out your design using a scalpel or blade. Mastercut is soft and very easy to cut so fairly detailed
shapes can be achieved.

Use a lino cutting tool to cut detail into your stamp.

Use the Versacraft Ink Pads to cover the stamp in ink. We started with one base colour all over
the stamp. This Cerulean Blue is stunning for our cornflower print.

Next, take a kitchen sponge and cut it into a few smaller pieces. You can use these pieces of sponge to transfer the ink from the ink pad to the stamp.
Try to keep separate pieces of sponge for the different ink pads so not to mix up the colours on the pads.

You can blend as many colours as you like onto the stamp. Keep adding until you are happy with how it looks.

Place the stamp face down onto your surface. We are printing onto a tea towel. Press down all over
the back of your stamp with the flat of your hand. Make sure to press down over all of the edges.

Carefully lift your stamp to reveal your print! This print is a blend of Cerulean, Midnight and Forest Versacraft pads.

For a zingy centre of this next print, we added Lemon Yellow.

Here we went for dusty hues with Wisteria, Cerulean and Ultramarine.

Each print can be completely individual.

We have printed our cornflowers in a scatter pattern on our tea towel. The slightly different colour
ways look fantastic all together and covering the whole surface did not take long to do!

When your prints are dry, heat set them with an iron. This means that they will be permanent and washable.

Our finished tea towel!

You will need:

You can find printable instructions here.

Drypoint Printing

Drypoint is an intaglio printmaking method that involves scratching an image into a plate with a pointed tool. These lines create a burr that holds ink, meaning that the print reveals the drawing. Intaglio printmaking is the opposite of relief printmaking as it is the positive marks that are printed rather than the areas that are left behind.

Drypoint is an easy technique to get to grips with and is a great method if you would like to take your drawings into print. It’s easier than etching as it requires less specialist equipment and no chemicals or acids. Drypoint plates can be made in copper, zinc or plastic. We love to use Drypoint Plastic as it is easy to draw into and a drawing can be traced through it!

Here’s how to do it:

Place your Drypoint Plastic over your image. It is a good idea to draw round your plate so you can reposition if needed.

Use an etching needle to trace your drawing with your tool into the surface of the plate. Experiment with pressing hard or softly to create different marks.

You may need to hold you plate up to the light away from your drawing to see how it is looking as it can be difficult to see your marks in the transparent plastic.

When your plate is finished, you are ready to print! First, soak a piece of printing paper. We are using Somerset Satin White 300gsm. You want to soak your paper in clean water for about 5 minutes. This helps to draw the ink out of the burred lines of your plate. After this time, remove your paper from the water and blot it on blotting paper or a clean piece of fabric. The paper should feel very slightly damp to the touch but not wet. If the paper is too wet when printed it will blur the lines of the print. If too dry, your image will appear too pale.

Caligo Etching Ink is oil based and water soluble so it is washable in water. We love printing with this ink. It has a tacky but not too oily consistency and the pigmentation is strong. Squeeze out a little ink onto an inking plate.

Use a dauber or a wadded up piece of fabric to dab ink all over the drawn areas of your plate.

Use a small piece of mount board or an store reward card (make sure it is a soft flexible one otherwise you risk scratching your plate) to scrape the excess ink off the plate. This also helps to fill the drawn lines with ink.

Use scrim to wipe the plate in circular twisting movements, removing excess ink and pushing the ink into the burred lines.

Next, use a piece of newspaper, tissue or an old phone book page and continue to wipe the ink in circular motions. This should start to reveal your drawing.

Finally, wipe your plate with a piece of soft fabric. Wad up the fabric and remove excess ink from the areas of your plate you do not want to print. You can create a point with your fabric to wipe small areas of your plate for detail: here we have wiped the centre line of the feather and some of the spots. Wipe the edges of the plate so that a border is not printed onto your paper.

You should be able to see your drawing filled with ink. Any smudges can be removed with the fabric. For a little plate tone, leave some of the smudged ink on the plate – this is an opportunity to be a little experimental with your image, much like you would be with a mono- print.

To create a registration sheet, use a large sheet of paper (photocopy paper is fine) draw around the piece of printmaking paper, remove and then position the drypoint plate onto the registration sheet and draw around this. This will ensure all images are positioned in the same place on each piece of paper.

Place your plate face up on the registration sheet on the print bed. We are using our etching press. Place your slightly dampened paper on top of the plate.

The pressure of the press combined with the dampened paper should draw the ink out of the lines of the plate. The pressure on the press should be quite firm.

After the print has gone through the press, peel off the paper to reveal your print!

Your plate can now be inked up and wiped again for another print! When you have finished printing, the ink can be cleaned up with cold water, washing up liquid and a rag.

If your print appears a little too pale, try wiping less ink off your plate (it is possible that you have removed too much ink) or dry dampening your paper a little more next time.

If your print is a little smudged or blurry, dampen your paper less or blot it more before printing.

If your print appears too dark, wipe off more ink before printing! Here are a few of our prints taken with this plate to illustrate the different styles of inking:

To print a drypoint you will need:

Screen Printing a Repeat Pattern

Printing a length of your own designed fabric is so exciting but most of us do not have the luxury of a fabric registration table. Here’s an easy step by step guide to printing a repeat pattern on a length of fabric using an A4 43T screen.

Draw the design motifs onto paper.

Trace your motifs onto tracing paper using a black pen.

Cut out the motifs.

Cut a piece of paper 17cm x 25cm and divide it into quarters. Label these pieces

1 2

3 4

Using double sided sticky tape (or rolled up tape) position the motifs onto the paper.

Draw around any motifs that go over a cut edge – this will show where the motifs should go when you rearrange the quarters.

Rearrange the pieces into

4 3

2 1

and fill in with more motifs.

Check the design will fit on an A4 sheet (we will be using A4 film and an A4 screen.)

Trace your design onto film, using an opaque marker. Keep the edges of the film straight along the top edge of the paper. This is fairly crucial as the design needs to be parallel to the screen for registration.

Expose your screen with the edges of the positive exactly straight within the screen (this is crucial when you come to print). You could use a Speedball UV light for this.

Pin your fabric to a padded surface and iron flat.

Put a piece of masking tape horizontally along the length of the fabric. Mark with verticals every 17cm and number.

Mix your ink using Binder and Pigments or use a ready mixed ink such as Speedball Fabric or Permaset Aqua.

Print all the odd numbered images, this will give time for the image to dry – a quick blast with a hairdryer will help.

Print the even numbered images.

Place the film in the correct position for the second row of printing. Place the screen on top and use a marker pen to trace elements that will help you with positioning on your screen.

Remove the film and print the odd numbered images and then the even images as before. Continue until you have printed your entire fabric.

For this project you will need:

Block Printed Tote Bag for Making Magazine

We have another feature in this month’s Making Magazine! You can find it on pages 9 – 11 of the July 2015 issue.

We used MasterCut to carve two blocks and printed them with Versacraft Ink Pads onto fabric. The fabric was then made into a beautiful tote bag by Emma Herian!

You can find out how to make this gorgeous bag from beginning to end in the magazine but here’s a sneak peek into our printing process:

 

 

 

 

To make this bag at home you will need:

  • Pattern templates found on page 84 of Making Magazine’s July 2015 Issue (or your own designs)
  • Tracing paper
  • Soft pencil
  • 2 MasterCut 100mm x 100mm blocks (these come in packs of 2)
  • Lino cutting tools
  • Versacraft fabric inks pads (we used Cherry Red and Cerulean)
  • 45cm x 52cm fabric
  • 4 pieces of 45cm x 52cm linen
  • 2 pieces of 45cm x 52cm iron-on heavy interfacing fabric
  • Set of leather handles
  • Sewing machine
  • Extra strong thread and a needle
  • Scissors
  • Iron 

Block Printed Tote Bag for Making Magazine

We have another feature in this month’s Making Magazine! You can find it on pages 9 – 11 of the July 2015 issue.

We used MasterCut to carve two blocks and printed them with Versacraft Ink Pads onto fabric. The fabric was then made into a beautiful tote bag by Emma Herian!

You can find out how to make this gorgeous bag from beginning to end in the magazine but here’s a sneak peek into our printing process:

 

 

 

 

To make this bag at home you will need:

  • Pattern templates found on page 84 of Making Magazine’s July 2015 Issue (or your own designs)
  • Tracing paper
  • Soft pencil
  • 2 MasterCut 100mm x 100mm blocks (these come in packs of 2)
  • Lino cutting tools
  • Versacraft fabric inks pads (we used Cherry Red and Cerulean)
  • 45cm x 52cm fabric
  • 4 pieces of 45cm x 52cm linen
  • 2 pieces of 45cm x 52cm iron-on heavy interfacing fabric
  • Set of leather handles
  • Sewing machine
  • Extra strong thread and a needle
  • Scissors
  • Iron 

How to Design and Print a Half Drop Repeating Pattern

A half drop is a great way of creating a repeating pattern where the repeat is slightly obscured. It can make for a less gridded-looking structure and add complexity to your design. Here’s a simple, analogue way to make one.

Start by drawing around your block. We are using MasterCut.

Draw part of your design in the centre of your template.

Cut out your template. Label the corners 1 – 4 and cut your template in half as seen below.

Swap over the two halves to looks like this:

Cut the right half in two horizontally.

Swap these two pieces so your numbered pieces are in the order pictured below. This step creates your half drop.

Tape your pieces together on the back. Draw the rest of your design over the middle to fill the space.

When you are happy with your design, trace it with a soft pencil onto tracing paper and transfer it onto your block.

Use your lino tools to carve out the white areas of your block.

When it’s fully carved, ink up your block. We used a VersaCraft fabric ink pad. We love these because they can be printed onto almost any surface and they’re washable on fabric!

If printing onto fabric, pin the fabric onto a padded surface. Place your block in the top left corner of your fabric. An arrow on the back helps to make sure it’s always up the right way. Press the back of the lock with the flat of your hand to print.

Place your next print directly below the first.

The next row needs to be placed half a block down from the first row. The top of our block matches up at the top of the large circle, where the design meets. This helps us to place our block.

Continue this row directly down from this point.

Continue printing in this way until all of your fabric is covered. For the top and bottom edges of your fabric, some prints will have to overlap the edge of the fabric. To get a neat edge, place a piece of scrap paper to mask off the area you don’t want printed (i.e. the edges of your fabric or the kitchen table).

To set your print, wait for the ink to dry and then iron it on the hottest setting appropriate for the fabric until the print feels too hot to comfortably touch.

Our final half drop repeat pattern:

To block print a repeat pattern you will need:

How to Design and Print a Straight Repeating Pattern

Here’s an easy way to design a repeat pattern (without using a computer) and to block print it on to fabric. We used MasterCut for our block because it’s an easy to cut stamping material that prints beautifully.

Draw around your block onto a piece of paper.

Draw part of your design in the centre of your template.

Cut out your template and cut it into 4 equal pieces. Number your pieces 1 – 4 as seen below:

Switch pieces 1 and 2 with 3 and 4 so that the top half is swapped with the bottom. Your design should look like this:

Now switch 1 and 3 with 4 and 2 so that the left side is swapped with the right side. Your design should look like this: (check your numbers to make sure the pieces are in the right order)

Tape the pieces together on the back. Draw the rest of your design over the middle to fill the space.

When you are happy with your design, use a soft pencil to trace it onto tracing paper. Try to be accurate around the edges in particular as this is where your prints will need to match up.

Transfer your tracing onto your block by turning it over and scribbling on the back.

You can now use your lino tools to start carving out the white areas of your block.

Use thinner tools for the edges and detail, and wider, flatter tools to clear the large spaces.

Ink up your block. We are using a VersaCraft Ink Pad in Poppy Red. Press your ink pad all over the back of your block.

If you are printing onto fabric, pin the fabric onto a slightly padded surface. Place your block in the top left corner of your fabric and press down all over with the flat of your hand.

This is a straight repeat pattern, so line up each print to the right of the last until you have a row. For the second row, line up your block directly below the first.

Repeat this until you have covered your fabric. When the prints are dry, iron the fabric on the hottest setting appropriate for the fabric until the prints are too hot to comfortably touch. This will set the ink so it is washable.

To block print a repeat pattern you will need:

Screen Printed Apron for Making Magazine!

We are giddily delighted to be featured in this month’s Making Magazine! On page 10-11 of April 2015’s Making Mag you’ll find our project for a spring floral screen printed apron. It was a lot of fun to make and looks fab in print.

Our rose design was drawn specifically for Making Magazine’s Spring Floral theme.

It was drawn in Photoshop and then condensed into two layers, one for each of our colours.These templates are available to photocopy from the back of Making Magazine or to print from Making Magazine’s website if you would like to have a go at making the apron yourself!








To make this apron at home you will need:

Screen Printed Apron for Making Magazine!

We are giddily delighted to be featured in this month’s Making Magazine! On page 10-11 of April 2015’s Making Mag you’ll find our project for a spring floral screen printed apron. It was a lot of fun to make and looks fab in print.

Our rose design was drawn specifically for Making Magazine’s Spring Floral theme.

It was drawn in Photoshop and then condensed into two layers, one for each of our colours.These templates are available to photocopy from the back of Making Magazine or to print from Making Magazine’s website if you would like to have a go at making the apron yourself!








To make this apron at home you will need: