Today I’m having some fun printing, which is the next step needed for the Previously Abandoned Project that I have dug out and am trying to get finished this week.
And I remembered that I never blogged the trousers that this print block was first used for.
Oh yes, I remember why that was now, a certain someone wasn’t really co-operating when I tried to photograph them!
Anyway, I designed this screen myself (it came with a paper print out of the screen that nicely illustrates the deisgn) and got it made up at thermofax, the idea being to brighten up this fleece backed sweatshirting fabric leftover from a jumper that I made, so that it could be used for trousers for The Boy.
My original idea for this design was that the frame can be rotated each time and 4 copies of it tessellate to make a square – see left hand picture. It was supposed to look vaguely like minecraft blocks and I envisaged covering the fabric like this, which each finished 4×4 block being a rotation of the one next to it, making a fairly large repeat. However, registering prints is HARD and requires preparation and patience that quite frankly I don’t have. I found this screen particularly confusing to do use as intended, as it’s rectangular, a whole column of the final square is missing, so it makes it hard to work out how to line the second print up. Most of the time I ended up with something more like the right hand picture, in fact the left hand picture is probably the only time I actually got it to work as originally intended!
So instead I went for a random look, starting at the bottom of the legs and then petering out as it went up. I was really pleased how this effect turned out and it lets some of the green base fabric show through too.
The pattern I used was the Ottobre/Sofilantjes mash up, and I put more of the design inside the pockets.
I realised today that I have only ever used this screen with green inks, and was merrily planning using it with some primary colours, but then when I washed it afterwards the screen is starting to come apart, so if I want to do that I will have to order a replacement screen. Still, I have a birthday coming up in a couple of months, so maybe a new screen or two would be in order, with a couple of pots of ink, I quite fancy some of the metallic ones.
Argh, Distracted Squirrel Brain strikes again. Must concentrate on finishing this project, and then some of the piles ligging about in my house before I start on something new!
Watch this space for more Previously Abandoned Project Updates soon, assuming I stay focused long enough.
Prolific Project Starter 