21 Feb 2012 7 Comments
Printing Fabric with Self-made Rubber Stamps
This is my first take on printing fabric with handmade rubber stamps. I was afraid my stamp is going to be completely weird and uncool because I don’t have a fancy set a linoleum cutters. I don’t know if stamping is something I am really going to invest time in so I decided not to buy a set yet, but rather use what I have. Which is a craft knife and a bit of patience.
I used a pencil rubber I bought at the supermarket, a sharpie to draw the design onto the stamp and a craft knife. I traced the design, then removed thin slices of rubber, using a 45 degrees downwards cut.
It helps to listen to a podcast or maybe an audio book, so you’re not tempted to chop of big chunks of the rubber stamps.
This is my stamp, with a prop that I’m going to talk about in a new post soon :)
Of course I long for a good linoleum cutter, so I can make smoother, curvier stamps, but I am quite pleased with the birds the way they are. I played with paint texture also, noticed I liked how a half-inked stamp looks on the fabric.
I also used the stamp to print a vague contour, then filled in new paint with a thin paintbrush.
I painted some blue cotton with these birds and sewed a blouse (the second take on the Sherlock Holmes blouse) and I’ll share that in another post (I have to take a photo of it!:)
Feb 21, 2012 @ 21:21:00
That looks very interesting! I am not sure I would have the patience to make my own stamps….and as clumsy as I am, I had better make sure to have LOTS of bandages handy for all the cuts to my fingers! :-)
I am looking forward to seeing your second version of the blouse!
Feb 22, 2012 @ 08:45:00
Hehe, you could try stamping with things that are around the house. Apple halves, cabbage halves, even small fish : >
Thanks for being so supportive.
Feb 21, 2012 @ 22:15:00
omg I was just tripping about home made stamps, even posted on Facebook some links about a starter kit I found (soon, my precious). Birdies look awesome!
Feb 22, 2012 @ 08:25:00
Oooh, I bet yours will be awesome! Now I am tripping on the thought you’ll make kittn stamps!
Feb 21, 2012 @ 22:16:00
Lovely bird print – or is it a flower?
Feb 22, 2012 @ 08:19:36
It’s a bird when fully inked and could be a flower if I just don’t paint over the beak I guess. I will try to make a white print on a blue fabric and see if it works as a flower. Good idea:>
Feb 23, 2012 @ 22:18:00
Your stamp look so lovely..I love the way it look on fabric! :)
I’ve always imagined making stamps as something really hard.. but you make it sound do-able! :)