In addition to swooning over the quilts and soaking up knowledge during lectures at QuiltCon, I also had the chance to get my hands dirty in a textile printing workshop with Lotta Jansdotter.
Let me start by saying Lotta is super nice and down to earth and the workshop was fun. I had never done any textile printing, unless you count the onesies I decorated at my baby shower using paint from a tube. So this was a treat for me to try something new with an accomplished artist like Lotta.
Everyone in the class got a kit with some basic printing tools and supplies. If you are interested in picking up a kit of your own, you can find one here.
We started off with block printing. Lotta showed us how to draw a design on a block and then how to carve it out.
I had no idea what to design and started out with a leaf. I wasn’t too thrilled with how it turned out. After that first attempt, I loosened up a bit and tried a flower, which I liked much better.
After block printing, we moved on to stenciling. Here Lotta is showing us a skirt she printed using stencils. Cute, isn’t it?
Although Lotta showed us how to make our own stencils, I opted for a couple that she had in her stash – an “M” for my little girl’s name and an elephant. As you can see, I went a bit heavy on the ink and learned that a little ink goes a long way. I’m not sure what I will do with this little square, but am open to ideas. Anyone???
I was so focused on what I was doing that the three hours of the workshop flew by. Now that I’m back home, I’m already thinking about how to apply my new textile printing skills to future projects. Ahhh, the possibilities are endless!
What about you? Have you ever tried textile printing? What’s your favorite technique? How do you use it in your quilting or sewing?
10 comments
Depending on the size of your square, it would make a cute little throw pillow for her, or her own personalized pin cushion.. 🙂 That looks like a lot of fun, haven't ever tried it!
I took a printing class over 10 years ago and have never done it since. Some day I'll have to give it a try again!
My friend Becky was in that class too, but I haven't talked to her since then to see how she liked it. We did the freezer paper piecing class together Saturday morning and had lots of fun. There was a lot of squealing going on at how cute and awesome our pieced blocks looked!!
How fun, Nicole! I think it would be cute to frame your block – though how big is it?! 😉 Very cool you tried something totally new & got to work with Lotta!
Looks like a lot of fun!
I would so love to try textile printing – how amazing to do a class with Lotta! I think your flowers are stunning and how fun to make something for your daughter 🙂
This makes me want to try stenciling. Since I love elephant fabric, I would make a quilt around that theme and use the block on the back of it, like a label. QuiltCon looked like a blast! Congrats on your win.
Oh I would have loved to be in that class! I've tried stamping with my own designs and screen printing as well. I love that with screen printing you can get larger, well covered designs, although not so easy at home to do that. I have loads of stamp carving stuff (it's so cheap!) and I'd really like to branch out more with it this year.
Wow – what a great class! And you met Lotta Jansdotter!! Serious person meeting envy here! How about making your M and elephant into a cushion for your little girl? Enjoy playing around with your new skills!
What fun… I have never done that. I love that elephant square… So sweet. My mother had a collection of elephants I always think if her when I see them.
Comments are closed.