At first sight, Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth - Stamp Screen and Stencil With Every Day Objects by Rayna Gillman, may appear an odd book to include on a rubber stamping site. The book, however, looks at many ways of making unique cloth designs using different techniques including stamping. Many stampers enjoy stamping on fabric as well as paper. Stampers who are interested in exploring the craft of stamping in its broadest sense will find plenty of inspiration in this book. There is a very fine line between stamping and printing and many of these techniques will adapt well to other mediums.
The Techniques
Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth is a book of techniques that can be applied to cotton, silk or rayon. The finished one-of-a-kind decorated textiles can be used as decoration, for instance to make wall hangings, or to create quilts or wearables. There are eight techniques that are explored in detail. Easy to follow step by step examples are given along side each technique as well as photographs of many different variations. Most of the techniques use materials and equipment that keen crafters and stampers will have to hand, such as brayers, paint brushes and scrap paper to use as masks. The emphasis throughout the book is on using 'found materials' (a potato masher creates some quite amazing designs!). Shop bought stamps, however, would also work well.
Fabric dyes, fabric paints and acrylic paints are used in many of the techniques while other techniques use easily sourced materials include gelatin and bleach. Some of the projects use more specialized materials, such as a screen for screen printing.
The author, Rayna Gillman, encourages the reader to explore their own creativity. Therefore the instructions are not overly prescriptive giving readers plenty of opportunity to develop the techniques further in different projects. There is a whole section at the back of the book that discusses in more detail ideas for things to do if things go wrong or the results weren't quite as expected.
Rayna has a friendly and accessible style of writing. This makes the book easy to read. Rayna's obvious empathy those new to printing and stamping on fabric is clear.
Fabric dyes, fabric paints and acrylic paints are used in many of the techniques while other techniques use easily sourced materials include gelatin and bleach. Some of the projects use more specialized materials, such as a screen for screen printing.
The author, Rayna Gillman, encourages the reader to explore their own creativity. Therefore the instructions are not overly prescriptive giving readers plenty of opportunity to develop the techniques further in different projects. There is a whole section at the back of the book that discusses in more detail ideas for things to do if things go wrong or the results weren't quite as expected.
Rayna has a friendly and accessible style of writing. This makes the book easy to read. Rayna's obvious empathy those new to printing and stamping on fabric is clear.
Stamping and Textile Design
This is a great read for stampers who are interested in exploring their craft further and those who are interested in surface and textile design. Stamping on fabric is an exciting way to use basic stamping skills. Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth - Stamp, Screen and Stencil With Every Day Objects takes the idea of stamping on fabric and mixes in printing and surface design techniques.
While no prior knowledge of working with fabrics is required, it would certainly be useful. Although brief descriptions of different materials is given, there is no glossary of terms, for instance, which might mean that readers who are inexperienced of working with textile art techniques might require further information. This can readily be found on the Internet and in more specialized books, therefore this should not prove a problem for creative stampers.
Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth - Stamp Screen and Stencil With Every Day Objects is extremely well illustrated and the photographs are clear. The range of fabrics and designs is extensive, providing plenty to inspire a stamper looking to try new things.
While no prior knowledge of working with fabrics is required, it would certainly be useful. Although brief descriptions of different materials is given, there is no glossary of terms, for instance, which might mean that readers who are inexperienced of working with textile art techniques might require further information. This can readily be found on the Internet and in more specialized books, therefore this should not prove a problem for creative stampers.
Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth - Stamp Screen and Stencil With Every Day Objects is extremely well illustrated and the photographs are clear. The range of fabrics and designs is extensive, providing plenty to inspire a stamper looking to try new things.
Conclusion
This book is ideal for stampers who are seeking new ways of using their craft. Stamping on fabric is becoming increasingly popular and Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth - Stamp, Screen and Stencil With Every Day Objects offers an excellent introduction to creating hand printed and hand stamped cloth. One excellent feature offered by the publisher, C & T Publications, is the 'look inside' option on the CT Publications website. This handy feature allows readers to take a look at some sample pages of the book prior to buying. This is a particularly useful feature for stampers who not sure if a book will be a useful addition to their bookcase.
This is not a book that covers stamping basics or stamping in its typical form and is not recommended for stampers looking for information about more traditional rubber stamping techniques.
This is not a book that covers stamping basics or stamping in its typical form and is not recommended for stampers looking for information about more traditional rubber stamping techniques.
More Information
- Title: Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth: Stamp, Screen & Stencil with Everyday Objects
- Publisher: C & T Publications
- Author: Rayna Gillman
- Product Code: 10555
- ISBN: 1-57120-439-3
