Print Your Own Fabric

Have you tried printing your own fabric? I’ve only done the tie-dye method, decades ago. Of late, I’ve seen some really interesting articles about designing and creating the print by other means ~ adding personal touches ~ to the project.

I didn’t have a clue how to do this, other than the “tie-dye” method, until I went on a mission around the internet!

The first technique that caught my eye, and gave me the inspiration for this article, was when I stumbled upon a short video clip from Better Homes and Gardens! They used celery to create a fabric stamp… that looks like a rose!

Then I went to YouTube and found lots and lots… like this one from Super Simple with Terri O (although I couldn’t find it on her actual website – and the search feature didn’t find it – but I found lots of other cool projects unrelated to sewing…but I digress…)

wikiHow provides the steps and tips and techniques to Make Your Own Fabric Prints. I will re-read this one before starting a project!

Poppytalk had a guest blogger, Karina Manarin, who gave a STEP-BY-STEP pictured tutorial “DIY: Print Your Own Fabric”!!! This is so doable!!!

I’m thinking a lot of us have used the trusty raw potato as a print stamp at one time or another. Sew Daily has a great article, “Simple Tips for Hand printing Your Own Fabric, Prints Charming” that is a good reminder of tips and techniques. It’s a must re-read once I get the potato out!

FYI: I’ve done this a couple of times ~ used my printer for small projects. If you want to use your ink-jet printer, wikiHow has a nice article explaining the process.

Taking it to the next level –

Okay, now you’ve created the most awesome print design ever and you want to get it professionally printed by the yard! There are companies that do this!

Kim over at True Up wrote a great article “My Big Digital Fabric Printing Experiment” comparing the four major production companies. I will re-read this post if ever I want to pursue this further! I noticed reading the comments were also helpful!  And, then her updated chart!

Have you printed your own fabric? What projects did you create? I can hardly wait to try my hand with printing my own fabric!