Ink & Fibre Textile Printing Resources

ABOUT THIS RESOURCES PAGE …

This page shares information that I hope will encourage you to continue exploring printing onto textiles well after our workshop day.

Bookmark this page in your browser so you can keep referring back to it.

When looking for something specific, I encourage you to shop around for different pricing and sales.

And please let me know if you think I’ve left anything out! 🙂

TEXTILES

Natural fibres are the best to print onto, but experiment with blends and different textile options.

Our workshop textiles were:

  • Teatowels from Linen Line Australia  (they also stock aprons, cushion covers, table runners and table cloth).
  • Tote bags from Linen Line Australia
  • 100% cotton and Poplin (poly-cotton blend) textile swatched from Spotlight
  • Muslin from Spotlight

The choices and options for fabric selection is bigger and can be more overwhelming than fine art printmaking paper selection! Below is a growing list of textile stores in South-east Queensland (in addition to Spolight). If you know of others who should be added to the list, please let me know.

SUNSHINE COAST

BRISBANE

BRAYERS aka ROLLERS

You need a fabric-specific roller to apply the ink to your printing block.

Officeworks sell the blue-handled Essdee fabric rollers we used in our workshop for approx $29

The orange-handled Essdee roller, which is my preferred, I have found on Jackson’s. They are UK-based, but will ship to Australia, and their product and shipping prices are VERY reasonable.

INK

Below are the inks you had access to in the workshop:

When using paint or an ink not specified for textile printing, a medium of fabric fixative should be added. This will ensure good bonding of the colour to the fibres. We added Derivan Fabric Fixative to the Derivan inks. There are a large selection of different brands of fabric fixative available at most art supply stores.

CARVING TOOLS

These are the tools we used in your workshop – 10x blade Flexcut Portable Carving Set.

The sharpening strop – Flexcut Slipstrop Kit. Occasionally these are bundled in with the carving sets on sale.

If you buy on of the Flexcut sets, I recommend buying a 2nd handle. You can’t always find it in the online Carbatec store, so give them a call and ask. They’re very friendly on the phone.

These are the Swiss Pfeil tools I use. And specifically the 2x sets I bought:

These are other options for getting started with something a little cheaper while you think about how much you want to invest in tools:
– https://www.eckersleys.com.au/lino-wood-tools-sets
– https://www.eckersleys.com.au/micador-lino-carving-tool-sets

And this is one of the sharpening strops I use to sharpen my tools. Keep your tools sharp and this strop is all you will ever need.

Colin Blanchard shares information about tool sharpening.

BARENS

You can use almost anything that will help give you added pressure for ‘stamping’ your relief block onto your paper.

A glass paper weight. Moccona coffee jar lid. This is the large glass ‘print frog’ I love to use – www.ironfrogpress.com. These are expensive – be resourceful and look around your home for something that will help do the job.

LINO / RELIEF BLOCKS

We used a soft-carve relief block. This is quick and easy to carve because of how soft it is. You can carve and print with lino – but also kitchen utensils, woodblock, interesting food shapes, corks, tubes, round things, almost anything!

Below are a selection of different types of soft-carve blocks, across a range of price-points.

I found some online sources for wood block for printing:

OTHER ARTISTS + SOCIAL MEDIA

Below are links to artists’ groups and other online resources to get you started down the rabbit hole of textile printing and textile art. There is a mix of different printing techniques (relief and screenprinting), but all of it is inspiration. If you have come across a link or resource to share, please let me know!

Some Facebook Resources

Online Textile Art Communities

Below is my ever-growing Texile Printing Pinterest board:

LETS GO SHOPPING 🙂

Below are links to different online stores where I buy supplies and equipment from.

Jackon’s are the UK art supply store that I may have mentioned in our workshop. While I strongly advocate for buying local and within Australia where possible, there is a very big price difference for some items at Jackson’s. Have a look at their site and see how the prices compare – but make your final decision when you see the final freight cost. Smaller items have very freight costs.

RECIPES

ORANGE ALMOND CAKE

I have created a private Facebook group ONLY for people who have attended my workshops. The idea is you can ask me questions, we share work, and I’ll share resources and information. Click the button below to join the conversation  …

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