screenprinting using embroidery hoops as screens

Recently I taught a class on handmade printmaking for the Community Learning department at Morley College.  These are some photos of learners making hand-drawn screens, stretched on embroidery hoops, and then screenprinting them onto cushion covers...

Painting over the traced images using screen drawing fluid.  Screen mesh has been stretched in the embroidery hoops.

The "screens" coated with screen filler on top of the dried drawing fluid.  After the screen filler is dry, then drawing fluid can be washed out under a tap, to create a stencil for printing.

Printing the designs onto cushion covers, using textile inks and a small card like an old library card as a squeegee.

Cat stencil design in orange.

Floral design in blue.

Fish and flowers design in brown.

The learners did the printmaking very successfully, and made great printed cushion covers.

hand screenprinted box set edition 2012

I'm late to post this blog entry, as I actually made this print last October, but better late than never...

So, this is a screenprint with embroidery that I made to take part in East London Printmakers' 2012 Box Set edition.  I printed it at home in my garage...

First I painted some writing on the screen using screen drawing fluid.  It will be useful for anyone reading this to know my mistake at this stage - as in the photo above, I first painted it on the 'outside' of the screen, as I usually do when using drawing fluid and screen filler, because the screen filler sits slightly raised on the screen and is better on the non-ink side. But then I realised that of course the writing would come out backwards when I printed it (the screen sits upside-down compared to how it is in the photo).  So I painted it again on the inside of the screen.

I then coated the screen with screen filler and washed out the drawing fluid to leave the text 'stencil.'  And I set up to print in our garage, which you can see is not fully converted into a studio yet!

The screen is fixed into 2 clamps, which are screwed onto a wallpaper pasting table and I've 'registered' the print by printing it onto a piece of acetate, putting the piece of paper which I'll print onto underneath the acetate print in the right place, then putting pieces of masking tape at the corners of the paper so each subsequent piece of paper is in the same place and the print is in the same place on the paper.

After printing the text layer, I then cut out a paper stencil for the yellow body image and printed that on top of each piece of paper.

50 pieces of paper later (more than my clothes horse and clothes pegs could hold at a time!) I was finished the printing part of this image.  Then I poked holes into the paper with an etching needle and sewed red embroidery thread to complete my design.

It's called 'Body Scan', after this meditation-type practice which I feel anchors me to the ground sometimes.

It is part of a Box Set, which East London Printmakers produce every year, where members of the studio make multiple prints then each participant gets a box with one of everyone's prints in it. Also some boxes are spare for the studio to exhibit or archive.

creating design on a screen using screen filler

A few weeks ago I prepared a design on a screen using screen filler as an example for a class I was teaching about screenprinting to a group of secondary school students.

The group had been studying textile designs from different cultures, so I took my pattern idea from a piece of African fabric.

I put the piece of paper under the screen and copied the design onto it with a pencil. Then I painted my design onto the outside of the screen (the flat side) using screen drawing fluid.

When the drawing fluid was dry, I spooned some screen filler onto the screen and swiped it across the whole screen (and over the drawing fluid) with a squeegee. Don't swipe the screen filler over too many times as you don't want to rub the drawing fluid away.

I waited for the screen filler to dry (overnight) then washed out the drawing fluid by spraying a hose from the inside of the screen (the back of the drawing fluid - and behind the screen filler, as the screen filler does not wash out with cold water).

Then I washed the front of the screen as well, to wash off any bits of screen filler that had come off in front of the drawing fluid, and that's it - when the screen dries, it's ready to print.  This is one way to screen print at home without needing expensive/bulky equipment (i.e. an exposure unit).

stencilled tote bag

I made a hand-stencilled tote bag yesterday, as a demo for my first Handmade Crafts class, which starts tomorrow evening in Forest Hill.  Here's how I made it...

I wanted to use the bag for carrying books, so I made some sketches about books and butterflies, which I used for the design.  I drew the butterfly/books on a piece of A4 card and cut out the shapes using a craft knife.  Then I sprayed a little glue on the back of the card and stuck it onto the blank bag.





I put some fabric paints out on a piece of acetate (a paper plate would be fine) and used pieces of sponge to stencil the design through the cut out shapes in the card.  It's better to dab the paint on gently and repeat the application, rather than blobbing lots of paint on, as the paint could get under the stencil and spoil your design.  When I had finished applying the different colours that I chose, I peeled the stencil off.

Then I sprayed some more glue onto the back of the stencil and stuck it onto the bag again, as I wanted to repeat some of the butterfly-books and fill in the bottom corners of the bag.  I got a bit of paint under the stencil by accident this time, but it can be fixed afterwards with a paintbrush.

When I'd finished (both sides) and the paint was dry, I ironed the bag on the reverse, to fix the fabric paint and make it washable.  Here's the finished bag again:

                                    

Handmade Crafts classes starting soon!

I will start teaching two new 'Handmade Crafts' classes at the Ackroyd Centre, Forest Hill, on Tuesdays, and Pat-a-Cakes coffee shop in Crofton Park on Thursdays.  They will start on Tuesday 18th and Thursday 20th September then continue weekly.

The classes will be an hour-and-a-half long, and in each session participants will make a different craft project to take away - for example: a stencilled tote bag, felt necklace or handmade notebook.

Classes will be drop-in (no need to book) for any level of crafter, and I hope they will have a relaxed sociable atmosphere.

Both classes will start at 7pm until 8.30pm, and the cost is £10 including materials.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this new class!

p.s. The first class will be stencilling a tote bag (reusable shopping bag) with your own design...

t-shirt workshop

I taught a t-shirt printing workshop on Saturday at the Ackroyd Centre, Forest Hill.

Eight children attended the workshop and printed t-shirts either with their own design or using pre-cut stencils from Ed Roth's book 'Stencil 101'.

The workshop went well - I was very impressed by the participants' designs and their quick grasp of how to do stencilling.

It was an enjoyable morning! 

t-shirt printing workshop

I will be teaching a t-shirt printing workshop for 8-15 year olds in Forest Hill, London, on August 4th.

I stencilled a couple of images to make a flyer for the workshop...

The first image was a pre-cut stencil from the book "Stencil 101" by Ed Roth.  It's a great book with lots of cool images ready-made (and cut out) for you to use immediately.

 
The second stencil was one that I designed and cut out of card.

This image was made using 3 stencils - one for the cloud, one for the raindrops (simply because the card wasn't big enough to fit the cloud and raindrops on), and a separate one for the eyes and mouth (because it's a different colour).

I used some repositionable spray glue to stick the stencils to the fabric, then fabric paint and a sponge to stencil them.

In the workshop on August 4th, participants will also print one t-shirt with a pre-cut stencil from the book "Stencil 101", then will make and print their own design on a second t-shirt.

Feel free to email me at: cathelinor@gmail.com if you have any questions about the workshop.