Hand-carved stamps and the fabric they have printed.
I had such a great experience at Butcher’s Sew Shop for their bag-making class, so I was thrilled when they announced a block printing class where you carve your own custom stamp and print fabric with it. This is something I’ve been interested in for a while. I even bought carving tools and a rubber sheet a few months ago, but I’ve been too scared to use them!
The class was really great. I am generally OK learning how to do things by watching videos and trying things out on my own. But in this case, it was refreshing to be able to experiment in a zero-pressure environment, have the guidance of experts, and check out the other students’ work. It was relaxing and fun!
I made these dinosaur skull (Parasaurolophus and Velociraptor) stamps and printed them in green on the off-white fabric. One thing I didn’t do at first was trim enough off the sides of each stamp. I would often get prints of the carved linoleum around the edges on the fabric. I have since better trimmed the stamp and hope to get some ink and a brayer soon.
Carving was not only surprisingly easy, but meditative as well. I’m kind of obsessed right now! Since this class, I have actually used my own tools and rubber to make another plate… I’ll share it with you soon! And hopefully I will be able to have custom printed fabric and bags available in my shop soon!