Hand Printed Boho Chic Summer Tees

Ever since my post about Fashion Fabric Printing, I have been anxious to put that into action! So, months ago, I purchased some very simple organic gauze cotton "t-shirts" from an ETSY shop based in Thailand. They have a curved hem, round neck, capped sleeves and an easy "swing" style. If I was going to print directly onto an already-made garment, I needed it to have fairly simple lines, so this style was perfect. And, rather than being knit, the cotton gauze definitely added to the boho vibe I was going for!

Of course, being a bohemian-style printing project, I had to start with my Hippie Chick stamp set. Both the stamps and this shirt were specifically created to release your inner flower child! Adding to this, the cotton gauze takes the fabric paint beautifully. Printed in two different rose tones, I think the result is quite appealing.

This one is a little more elaborate and makes use of another obvious choice, my Bohemian Dreams stamp set. It is printed in three shades of blue which brings to mind the batiked, indigo-dyed fabrics that are so popular these days.

I considered printing more around the neckline and/or sleeves on this one but decided to keep it simple. A very clean look and more like a basic graphic tee. The leafy floral motif, printed in two shades of green, is from my stamp set that I call Castle Courtyard.

Using diamond motifs from my Ashley's Garden Companions stamp set, I gave this blouse more of a retro look. I went crazy with this one and printed the front, sides....

..........AND the back!

Last but not least, a blouse with simple and pretty stripes made up of a smaller leafy motif from Castle Courtyard stamps.

You might be thinking, if I bought these shirts months ago, why did it take so long to get them in the shop? Were they terribly complicated and difficult to print? Absolutely not! Just practice on paper first! Iron a crease on the center/front (and back if want to continue there) of your shirt to use as a guide, then get in your zen mode, turn on the music, hold your breath and print! 

My Fabric Printing Gift Set is just what you need to get started!

Unfortunately, I am very sad to report that the shop where I purchased these plain white cotton gauze shirts has since closed. So, these pretty shirts are most definitely "LIMITED EDITION"! But, if you want to make your own, I am sure you can find something similar. Or just start with a basic knit t-shirt - the tighter (smaller? smoother?) the knit, the better. 

OK, why the delay? Well, in-between buying the shirts and now, I was approved to open a shop on ETSY Wholesale! Yay! That's right, I am now selling Yardwork Clear Decor Stamps wholesale. The short story is, I had a lot to figure out! 

So, if you are a retailer, be it "brick and mortar" or online, and would like to carry my stamp sets, please contact me through my retail ETSY shop or at yardworkartwork@gmail.com. If you are not yet signed up for buying on ETSY Wholesale, I can send you a special guest pass to view my line sheet. Please note, only my stamps sets will be available wholesale - NOT the other fabric printing supplies that I carry or bohemian fabric by the yard.

After that, if you want to view more and more on ETSY Wholesale, I'm sure it's easy to sign up. Warning: you will definitely need to provide a tax resale number 

and proof that you are buying for resale.

Indigo Petals is Back! Indigo Resist-Dyed Fabric from India

I had my popular "Indigo Petals" design printed again and it just arrived in the mail yesterday! It is an even deeper indigo blue this time around, which means it spent a little more time in the dye bath. It is a really lovely all-over non-directional geometric pattern that is both traditional and contemporary. 

I am also offering FREE shipping in the US for all my new cotton prints from India! And the shipping rates for Canada, Europe and beyond has been reduced. This is only for the hand printed fabrics from India that are available as yardage. Therefore, this excludes the fat quarter bundles, patchwork bundles, SALE fabrics, and "last piece" fabrics. 

Wonderful fabrics for summer!

Valentine's Day Gifts

Happy Valentine's Day!

I did it. I made my first quilted pillowcase with big fat tassels on the corners! As you see, I used my handprinted and dyed fabrics featured in my last blog post. I just knew they would come in handy. I was quite inspired! Perhaps I am biased, but I think the handprinted fabric adds character and whimsy that you don't get with commercially printed fabric. And the tassels help too!

I also continued to go overboard and added a handprinted tank top to my handprinted boxer shorts so it is now a complete pajama set! So fun to make. 

The tank top is a racerback style, which gave me the perfect opportunity to create this groovy little arrangement of motifs on the back. I have already given my daughter this gift and she was thrilled! 

Contemporary bohemian!

Fabrics for Valentine's Day

With my duo of romantically inclined stamp sets on sale for Valentine's Day, I have been doing some experiments, using stamps with red fabric dye, color magnet, red fabric paint, and deColourant. Both the Color Magnet and deColourant are fairly new, gel-like, products for use in fabric arts.

This little swatch was created using my "Kitchen Window" stamp set which was inspired by spongeware pottery. I thought a bouquet of roses would be appropriate for the holiday! The rose was stamped using the Color Magnet, which attracts more color in the dye bath. Then, after dying and drying, I used the deColourant to remove color. I love the texture that stamping with the dColourant  added. It really brought the spongeware pottery look back into the design in a way I was not able to achieve with fabric paint.

I stumbled upon deColourant while experimenting with stamping with bleach to remove color from fabric. The main problem with bleach is that, even after washing, you have to combat the bleaching action in some way because the bleach will eventually eat right through your fabric. Bleach just keeps on bleaching until there is nothing there and washing with soap and water is not enough! You need to use either hydrogen peroxide or this chemical known as Anti-Chlor. I like to try to keep the chemicals and various product purchases to a minimum, plus I've done some tests comparing the bleach (I used dishwashing bleach gel) and the deColourant and I am seeing better results with the deColourant. It does have a strange smell, as does bleach, but it can be easily rinsed away afterwards. 

Another little swatch, this time with the Color Magnet and then a darker shade of fabric paint. On the blank fabric swatch, it was a little hard to see where I had stamped before and where to stamp next. The Color Magnet is tinted yellow but my fabric was a fairly deep ivory so it did not show very well. However, I think this ended up working in my favor because it loosened the design up a bit. I cared less about precision and more about process and discovery. Of course, once I dyed the swatch, it was easy to see what had been stamped and positioning the stamps with the fabric paint was a breeze!

This is my favorite. So simple and sweet. I used just one stamp from the "Hippie Chick" stamp set. First, I used the back of the stamp, which is a perfect polka dot, to stamp with the Color Magnet. After dying, I turned the stamp back over and printed with the red fabric paint and then again using the deColourant. 

This print uses just the deColourant and the red fabric paint. Both the Color Magnet and deColourant have a very thin consistency. Much more thin than fabric paint. I was afraid that stamping would not be possible, but I think you can see that the details in the stamps held up quite well!

I'm very happy with the results. Somehow the prints look more vintage than when using only fabric paint on solid colored, commercially dyed fabric. I can't wait to try more!

But first I want to see if I can make something

really nice with these Valentine's Day swatches!

Last Minute Valentine's Gift for the Guys?

Today is February 1st....meaning Valentine's Day is right around the corner.

If you are looking for a unique way to decorate your love letters, consider my Ashley's Garden stamp set with it's curls, swirls and heart shapes!

 

And now Ashley's Garden has a companion - Ashley's Garden Companions! True love!

A perfect match for a Valentine's Day sale!

Get both sets for only $12.00 - that's just $6.00 per set!

Makes a great gift on it's own!

Lots of great pattern possibilities for cards, gift wrap, gift tags. Printing on fabric? How about sachets, gift bags, or coasters? Find some more ideas in these blog posts from years ago, here and here. Ooooh - or how about a Valentine charm square pillow for that special someone! Hmmm, I should make some of those for my shop next year.....

Here is a quick DIY gift idea for the man in your life. Men are so hard to buy for!! Oh well, at least for Valentine's Day, we can get a little more playful and even totally over-the-top, right? Let's print boxer shorts! I've seen some really outrageously patterned boxer shorts in the men's department at just about every department store, so they must be acceptable to the guys. My guess is they are hugely popular. 

In fact, it wasn't easy finding plain white cotton boxer shorts, but I did manage. However, now that I think about it, most any solid color will do. Pink, cream, red.... Although if the color is too dark, you will be limited to the darkest fabric paint colors, such as black, deep reds, grays, navy. That's fine - probably more masculine. There are some nice deep colors in my "jewel tones" paint set. But, I'm going with the traditional Valentine's pinky-red on white because I'm actually going to give these to my daughter. Boxer shorts also make great pajamas - for guys or gals!

Above, you can see the first step: stamp all lined up on it's acrylic block and I'm using the block's bottom edge to line up with the stitched bottom hem of the shorts. Put a piece of paper under your top layer of fabric so that the paint does not seep through to the layer below. Or, maneuver your fabric so there are no other layers underneath. It can be done! OK, so now I've applied the rose color from my "soft tones" paint set and I'm going to create a border of heart shapes all the way around. No need for measuring - I will just go with it! It's good to start on the pant's inside seam because, since we are not measuring, we don't know how it will end up. It won't be noticeable in that spot. Anyway, it's all for fun!

Ta-da!

Just a quick printing tip. Keep your block as clean as possible and keep the paint ONLY on the raised stamp motif. Use a stamp scrubber or even just a damp sponge to quickly rinse (no need to go running to the sink!) - then be sure to dry completely with a dry lint-free cloth. Since we are printing on an already constructed garment, things are going to get bumpy. And bumps can pick up the paint that might be surrounding the image. Above, you can see where I encountered such a bump with a fully loaded block and stamp. Oops. Not bad enough to give up however! These little smudges are perfectly acceptable.

As you can see, I just stopped my row of hearts when it came crashing into too many seams and too little flat space to print. Since it's the inside seam, nobody will notice.

But we are not done yet!

My particular pair of boxer shorts have a gray accent running through the waistband, so I decided to make my design coordinate with that. I used the pewter color in the same soft tone paint set and the smallest stamp in Ashley's Garden Companions, to put a little detail above the row of hearts.

Looking good! I could stop there....

.......but I won't! I put the same stamp on a much larger block so I could use the bottom edge of the larger block to line up the next row and have it be quite a bit further away from the previous row. See? No measuring! Neat trick.

And I skipped every other pair of motifs from the row before, so that there is more and more space between motifs as I go up.

And on and on. At this point, I am just eyeballing the spacing. And taking my time!

All done! So, what I ended up with is just a sprinkling of gray stamps floating down to the more complete border design. Pretty cute if I do say so myself. She's going to love them! 

And I think your special "he" will love them also!

And now for a Valentine's Day coupon code!

HEARTDAY

If you care to make a purchase in my shop, just type the code in at checkout and receive 20% off any (total) purchase over $10.00. Good today through February 14th.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ideas for Fashion Fabric Printing

I love movies. I frequently end my day by watching some random independent film, at home, that I find on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. I have taken a chance on many and have mostly been pleasantly surprised! I have to admit that I'm not too picky. Maybe that is because, even if I don't enjoy the storyline, I can still enjoy the visuals. Last night's feature is a good example. I was happy to find a new Woody Allen film that I somehow missed when it was in the theaters (probably very briefly) this past summer. I've always been a Woody Allen fan, and even his less successful films deliver very stylish and lush visual experiences. I would say "The Irrational Man" is such a film, more of a sketch than a fully realized cinema experience but it was very pleasing to watch. I loved all the attractive actors and the seriously flawed characters they played. The story took place on a leafy college campus near the coast, allowing for varied and beautiful scenic shots. The weather was perfect throughout! However, the big surprise was that I was very inspired by Emma Stone's clothing. I don't usually go to the movies expecting to find fabric printing inspiration!

Here is Emma with her handsome co-star, Jaoquin Phoenix, wearing an absolutely charming embroidered top. Of course, you know what I'm thinking! Rather than using embroidery, couldn't that easily be strategically placed stamped motifs? Or, even better, combine the stamped motifs with embroidery!

A closer look!

One could print the fabric first....possibly after cutting the shirt or dress pattern so that you get the placement exactly right. For the sweet tank top in the photo above, looks like just a few swatches would be all that you would need to create something really special. I realize this is winter and these are warm weather tops, but I think the idea could be adapted for winter clothing or the lighter weight tops could be used as layering pieces. Who doesn't wear tank tops to peek out from under sweaters or jackets all year long? Also, never too soon to start sewing for spring/summer. Warm weather will be here before you know it!

It was not easy finding a good photo of this dress. Different motifs make up the sides on the body of the dress, the strip going across her chest, and then the strips going over her shoulders. Quite stunning when you see it in action! And although the movie was not his best, it was fun, quirky and surprising. Worth a watch!

Photo courtesy of InStyle.com

And, what do you know, while searching for Emma Stone's blouse images, I discovered that I was, of course, not the ONLY one out there who was inspired!

Create this look using Yardwork's Clear Fabric Stamps!

Hand Printed Burlap Table Runners

I never really got involved in the (not so) recent shabby chic-ish burlap home decor trend. Is that over? I don't even know for sure, but I suspect it is way past it's prime. So, I'm not really clear on why I purchased about 2 yards of burlap (online) a couple of weeks ago. I was in my stamp designing frenzy, spending hours on the computer, and a promotional email from a fabric store came in offering quite a deal on burlap. Yep, that's it, I got sucked in. I am very vulnerable that way. I believe my original intention was to make some sort of kitchen floor covering. The jute is pretty sturdy and you can print it and hem it and wouldn't that be fun? At least I thought so at the moment and I do still think it's a pretty good idea. However, I ended up making a couple of table runners instead. Why?

Well, because I did this really quick test with a stamp and fabric paint. The fibers absorbed the paint beautifully. I was inspired!

But what really impressed me, and sent me into the table top direction, was that the beautifully absorbed paint did not absorb all the way to the back of the fabric. That rarely happens. I've only been able to achieve that result with the very heaviest of linen and really heavy linen is expensive and a little hard to iron. Often creases will not go away no matter how much steam you blast into them. Anyway, I did soon discover that most of my stamps won't print well on burlap because they are too detailed (and my stamps are more "graphic" than most clear stamps on the market). I could only work with the most simple of shapes and, luckily, I have some simple shapes coming up in one of my new stamp sets which I, of course, have samples of. I'm planning to call this particular set "Bebop" because it has that sort of jazzy 50s vibe.

So, this (above) was my first attempt. Very simple. It definitely suits my taste, I don't know about anyone else's. Looks great with vintage dishes (think 40's& 50's) or stoneware pottery (although I don't happen to have any of that, I can only imagine!). I like that it is not overly feminine. Could even be a gift for a man. A man that cooks and entertains. 

Like my turkey plate?

Then I moved on to this one (shown above). Again, simple. I allowed the edge to fringe a bit more and I like it that way. I like that fuzziness of the fringe along with the texture of the burlap itself. That is my kind of table runner! And I have not met too many I like. Too fussy. When hosting a dinner party, I usually just arrange a well-loved vintage fabric swatch in the middle of the table or layer a few old vintage tablecloths. My dishes are "vintage" and all my serving dishes are mix & matched things I have collected over the years, so this is the look for me. And I'm sure there are other people like me out there and they are all going to be my new target market! Finally I have found them!

Most likely I will give these as Christmas gifts.

Then I will continue to perfect my craft.

The bad news is: I'm out of burlap. Should I buy more? Also, my stamp sets will not be delivered until November 20th! Yikes. My stamp manufacturer must be really busy because it usually only takes about 2 weeks. This is more like four weeks..... but I'm not going to let it get me down.

 I might possibly have them all photographed and in my shop by Thanksgiving. 

So, until then.....

Sneak Peek at My New Stamp Sets

It's true! I have been working really hard the past few months on some new stamp sets. And here is proof!

I design my stamps and all the packaging myself but the actual stamps are manufactured by a  professional stamp-making company in Indiana. So, there is a little back & forth that has to go on. I send them the computer files, which include both the stamp images and a shape for the back of each stamp. They make a sample of each set and send that back to me. I then test each stamp to be sure the details will be clear and that the stamped image is what I had in mind. I use some sort of scrap fabric for testing, in this case a piece of plain muslin that is impossible to iron, making it not that useful for other projects! The fabric has just enough texture to challenge the details that most of the stamps have. I grab a random color of fabric paint and stamp away!

This is the largest stamp in a set with a medieval feeling. The "white" areas in the center closed up a bit too much, so it doesn't have the central floral motif I was shooting for. So, I had to do a little redesign on this one. 

And here are the two main stamps in a set inspired by textile blocks from India. I'm happy with these but I did have to increase the line width in the round one. This set makes some really great patterns! Can't wait to show you!

The time in between sending the files and receiving the samples gives me a chance to sort of step back and then look at the motifs again with "fresh eyes".  I did like the graphic simplicity of the center flower on this one, but my "fresh eyes" convinced me to make that flower a little more complicated and interesting. You are going to like this set. It has a fun "hippie" vibe!

Some of you might recognize this spiky Mid-Centruy Modern style flower stamp. It used to be a red rubber stamp in my shop and was very popular. But, to tell you the truth, the clear stamps print MUCH better on fabric so I phased out of the red rubber and built a clear stamp set around this fun flower. 

And this is from a set designed to increase the possibilities of my Ashley's Garden set. Ashley's Garden has sold well enough but I've always felt perhaps it is somewhat misunderstood. I think because of the heart shape being so prominent in the largest stamp, although that works well if you want to make something for your valentine! However, the way I look at it, with the right color combinations,  it can create patterns with a slight Wiener Werkstatte look. Adding a little more "vocabulary"  will help with that I think. I'm going to call the new one "Ashley's Garden Companions". Surprise!

And who can resist a little bird stamp! It's a very delicate stamp and the sample told me to make the eye bigger! I also shortened the tail a bit. The rose and leaf next to it are all a part of the same set, which is inspired by spongeware pottery. I'm going to call it "Kitchen Window".

So now I am waiting for the corrected samples and hopefully those will be good to go into production. Cutting it close here - but hopefully I will have a large new inventory in time for holiday shopping.