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- This technique is fast and simple. It requires the use of paints, thickened dyes or inks
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- to add colour to fabric, which has already been dyed. I'll be using fabric inks and
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- 'Jacquard Lumiere' for something special. The tools required are rollers, stamps,
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- containers to mix paint and a stirring stick, a plate, gloves and a well-ventilated area.
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- I'll be using fabric from a 'Tray Dyeing' exercise. When you mix paints, it's always
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- easier to start with the lightest colour, a little less than you think you'll need, and add
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- the darker colour a little at a time. In this instance we are going to make pink from
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- white and red. Keep adding small amounts of red until you get to the desired colour.
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- If you do it the other way around, it takes a lot more white to get the red down to
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- the shade of pink that you are after. You'll have far too much paint and you'll have
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- wasted a lot of it. When you have the desired colour, spread some over the surface
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- of the plate. You won't need much. Spread it wide enough that it will cover the
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- surface of the roller. Apply the roller to the paint and keep rolling the paint over the
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- plate until the roller is evenly covered.
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- Spread the fabric out over the surface. Apply the paint with the roller evenly onto
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- the stamp of your choice. Place the stamp into position on the fabric and press
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- down. Continue this process until you have enough designs over the surface of the
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- fabric. Knowing when to stop, or as us mothers always say, knowing when enough is
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- enough, is half the trick to a successful design. This one needs more work. Take
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- another colour paint, this one is green, and a stamp and repeat the process. I've used
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- a different design, but you could just as easily use the same design. Adding a new
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- design gives the textile more movement and therefore more interest. Resist the urge
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- to make the design symmetrical. Now with a fine brush and black paint, I'm going to
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- fill some of the spaces with squiggles. Often these meaningless squiggles are the
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- perfect way of finishing off a piece. They fill empty spaces, provide a smooth
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- transition from one design element to the next, and add further dimension to the
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- textile. If you are not comfortable working freehand, then a smaller simple stamp will
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- do the trick. With the same brush and a different colour I have added centres to the
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- flowers. This gives a focal point for the eye to rest on and provides definition to the
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- flower. It's what we expect to see, when you see a flower. Here is the finished piece,
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- and more examples of stamped fabrics. You will see that this style of surface design
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- has limitless possibilities. Even the same stamp will look completely different on
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- different fabrics, with different inks, and in different positions. Explore, experiment
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- and have fun!