Hi there! It’s Marsha here today! Have you ever tried Gelli Arts® gel printing on fabric?
It’s very similar to printing on paper, and it’s super fun because you can create custom fabric to fit any craft, quilting or sewing project!
Before you start gel printing on fabric, it’s good to wash and iron your fabric.
Laundering the fabric will remove any sizing that might prevent the paint from grabbing onto the fibers. This is especially important if you want to use the material for something you know will need to be washed in the future.
In addition, I also like to cut my fabric to the size I need it to be for the project I have in mind. I cut my cotton fabric to 5″x5″ squares.
If you’d like to print on larger pieces of fabric, it might be helpful to stabilise the material first. The easiest way to do that is to iron the wrong side of the fabric to the shiny side of a sheet of freezer paper.
Once you’ve prepared your fabric, you can start gel printing. Watch me print on my fabric squares in this video:
You do not have to use fabric paint to gel print on fabric. However, fabric paints are formulated to give the material a softer hand and increase launderability.
I like to make my own fabric paint by mixing regular acrylic paint with fabric medium. This gives me lots of colour options, and it also gives me more control over the viscosity of the paint.
Make sure to follow your specific fabric paint or fabric medium instructions. In my case, I had to allow the paint to dry completely on the fabric and then heat-set it using an iron or heat press.
Protect your ironing board with a cloth or parchment paper as the paint can stain your board cover. (Ask me how I know…)
I decided to use my gel printed fabric for some spring sewing crafts. As I’m not a seamstress nor a pattern maker, I used these cute sewing patterns I found online:
Chicken Ornament by Ann Wood (Ann Wood Handmade) LINK: https://www.annwoodhandmade.com/chicken-ornament-free-sewing-pattern/
Spring Chick by Virginia Lindsay (Gingercake) LINK:https://gingercake.org/gingercake/2020/04/sew-a-cute-spring-chick.html
Happy Spring!
Marsha.
Materials:
Gelli Arts® 5 “x7” printing plate
Gelli Arts® Mini Printing Tools
Gelli Arts® Mini Placement Tool
Gelli Arts® Parchment Paper
Other:
Brayer 4″
Cotton fabric (cut to 5 “x5” squares)
Acrylic paint
Fabric medium (or use fabric paint)
Scrap paper
Stencils and (DIY) texture making tools
Sewing equipment
Optional: Freezer paper
Marsha.
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Hello, I love the fabrics that you made, very lovely….this video made me want to get my Gelli plate out,which has been stuck in a box for about two years…..so! A big thank you for sharing.
That’s awesome, Pam! Have fun creating!