printing on fabric Archives - Pretty Handy Girl

Once again I’ve created a DIY gift that I want to keep for myself! It’s true, I’ve fallen in love with these stenciled and dyed scarves that I created this week. In particular, I’m rather fond of the blue/gray and yellow ones. So, my question to you is, which looks better on me? (Because I might have to keep it.) The blue/gray ombré scarf with the peacock feathers.

Or the sunny yellow scarf with paisleys. I always thought I didn’t look good in yellow, but I think the picture is proving my thoughts wrong.

For this gift idea, you can either purchase colored scarves or buy white scarves and dye them. I prefer to do the latter because frankly I don’t usually like the scarf colors offered (at least the inexpensive ones.) But, that’s up to you and your time availability. Let’s get on to the tutorial, shall we?

Materials for stenciling scarves:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Scarf (I found mine for $6.99 at Kroger & CVS)
Fabric paint (or paint for multi-surfaces)
Stencil roller
Stencil pouncer
Baby wipes
Painter’s Tape
Stiff board or foam core board
Stencils (I used Peacock Fancy Small and Printed Indian Paisley Damask from Royal Design Studio)

Materials for Dyeing Scarves:

Rit Dye (choose your own color combo here)
- The custom colors I mixed were Warm Red #122 and Teal #412 (but I added some more Teal Rit Dye to the recipe)
Rubber Gloves
Measuring cup
Salt or Vinegar (depending on your fabric)
2 Buckets
Liquid Detergent
Stir stick
Yard stick or pole (for ombré dyeing)

Instructions for Dyeing Scarves:

To keep this tutorial from being crazy long, I’m going to show you the quick and basic steps for dyeing, but I highly recommend that you follow the instructions on your package of dye or on the RitDye.com website.

1) Boil 4 cups of water.

2) Pour 1 cup salt [recommended for use with viscose (same as rayon)] in the hot water and stir to dissolve.

3) Pour hot salt/water mixture into a bucket with 2 gallons of hot water inside. Stir.

4) Pour appropriate dye amount (look on bottle or color formula chart) into the bucket.

5) Mix well. Dip scarf inside the bucket. Stir and let scarf sit for several minutes (about 10 minutes.)

6) Remove scarf and wring out any excess dye. Place in a separate bucket that has clean water in it. Rinse and wring scarf in water. Change water often and continue until the water remains mostly clear (this takes a while.)

Ombré dyeing technique:

If you wish to create an ombré scarf, drape the scarf over a ruler or pole. Gently dip the bottom third of the scarf into the dye bath. Do not let the scarf sit, bounce it up and down. After a few minutes, dip the scarf in lower (about 2/3 way) and continue to bounce it in the dye bath. Finally, the last minute, dip the entire scarf into the bath and remove immediately. Dip it about six more times, constantly dipping to create a gradiation or ombré effect.

After the scarf is thoroughly rinsed, wash it with like colors in the washing machine. Dry. Iron all wrinkles out of the scarf.

Tape one end of the scarf to a board with painter’s tape. Make sure the fabric is taught.

Tape your stencil onto the scarf. If there are areas on the stencil that you wish to block, tape over them.

Roll your roller into the paint. Roll any excess paint off the roller until it is almost dry. Then roll your paint over the stencil. You’ll have to roll over it multiple times to build up enough saturation of the paint.

Lift the stencil and position it next to the printed area.

Line up the registration marks with the last row of your stencil design.

You might need to remove the areas you masked off and adjust to the opposite side.

Roll your paint onto the stencil until you have good coverage. Remove the stencil.

Allow the paint to dry. Remove the scarf and print the other end of your scarf. For extra color, you could paint some areas of the pattern with a second color.

Allow to dry and enjoy your beautiful creation!

If you would like more of a visual demo, you might enjoy watching the Google Hangout hosted by HomeTalk on stenciling that I did on Wednesday with Melanie from Royal Studio Designs and Jesse from Scout & Nimble. It was a blast and there were some really awesome holiday ideas shared! They could also be Très Frugal DIY Gift Ideas!!!

I am in absolute love with the results of these scarves!

Which is your favorite? I still can’t decide…blue/gray…

or yellow?

Help me decide!

Pin for later!

All the Très Frugal DIY Gift Ideas can be seen here.

I’m so excited to share this tutorial with you. I knew it could be done, but honestly I didn’t believe it until I tried it. When I saw THIS cute project over at Home Frosting, it got my creative wheels turning.

I asked Lesa for a few clarifications and she gave me the courage to try feeding drop cloth material through my printer. {gulp}

Printing on material is fairly easy to do if you have the right materials.

Materials:

Laser or ink jet printer (I only tried it on the laser printer, but it can be done on either.)
Reynolds Freezer Paper
Iron
Ironing board
Sheet of letter size paper
Scissors
3M Duct Tape
Cork Board
Irwin mat knife
Painter’s drop cloth bleached and washed until soft

Start by creating your words that you want to print in Word or any other program.

Set your iron to preheat.

Tear off a sheet of Freezer paper slightly larger than letter-size paper. Cut the freezer paper down to 8.5″ x 11″.

Lay the freezer paper shiny side down on the drop cloth.

Press firmly on the paper and move the iron around constantly for about 15 seconds. Let the freezer paper cool for a minute and test to make sure it is lightly adhered to the drop cloth. If not, iron a little longer.

Now trim the edges of the drop cloth until it is the same size as the freezer paper.

Take your freezer paper/drop cloth sandwich to the printer. If you have an individual sheet feed location on the printer, it would be best to use it. But, it can be done without. Print the document you created earlier.

Oooo, sooo pretty!!! I actually ran my “sandwich” through twice to get it darker, but it was still too faint for my liking.

If you have the same issue, you can go over the letters with a ball point pen.

Peel off the freezer paper.

Now, cut your cork board. (If you are using the these cork boards in a window, be sure to pre-measure the individual window panes first.)

I have to tell you that Irwin sent me another tool to try. The mat knife. Their claims sounded outrageous, claiming it can cut better than other mat knives. “Whatever” is what I thought. But, as usual, they proved me wrong. I used the Irwin knife to cut BOTH cork board and foam core!

Have you ever cut foam core with a mat knife cleanly? Not me, until now.

I swear to you that Irwin has not paid me to say any of this. I just like their tools. I am waiting for an Irwin tool that I don’t like and then I’ll let you know what it is. But, I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Line up the drop cloth where you want it with the cork board underneath. Fold one edge of the fabric over onto the back.

Secure it with the duct tape.

Pull the opposite side of the fabric and wrap it around the back. Continue until all the sides are taped to the back of the cork board.

And there you have it! A unique personalized cork board.

Want to see how to use the drop cloth bulletin boards in this Artist’s Inspiration Board?

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial

Pin for later!

Making Printed Drop Cloth Bulletin Boards