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Sun Printing – An Introduction

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How to sunprint on fabric via lilblueboo.com

 

 

 

It’s been about 25 years since I’ve used sun printing paper but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while! Who knew there was sun printing fabric?! I made this easy little square pin cushion using 8.5″ cotton cyanotype fabric squares and buttons:

 

This applique shirt was so simple…


…and I love the extra button detail:

 

 

The squares I used are the Blueprints on Fabric(pink on blue) shown below:


In a nutshell, the 8.5″ fabric squares in the kit are pretreated with a chemical that makes them change color in sunlight. I took the squares and pinned them to cardboard backing to keep them in place and laid various objects on top to experiment:


I placed the board in the sun for about 10 minutes and let the sunlight do its thing. The fabric darkens slightly (not to its dark blue you would expect):


Once the fabric has been in the sun for about 10 to 15 minutes, it is washed with cold water and the dark blue color appears:


I’m pretty sure there are over million things you could do with this fabric…here was my first hour of playing with it:

 

I pinned buttons to the fabric in the shape of a heart:


I pinned one of my mother’s old necklaces in place:


I layered different types of lace:


I used a transparency with a superhero “POW” on it:


Stay tuned for more sun printing soon!

 

 

Frida Folk Art Tee (with download)

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Frida was on this weekend….I can’t even count the number of times I’ve watched that movie. I made this easy tee for Boo using the Frida Folk Art I painted a while back (see painting tutorial here). I wanted the t-shirt image to resemble a Mexican retablo and I love how it turned out!

Below is my image that you are welcome to download and make something for yourself! If your browser has trouble loading it just click the link below:
FridaFolkArt

The easiest way to transfer the image to fabric is to print it out onto transfer paper using your inkjet printer. I use Dharma Trading’s Super Soft Transfer Paper. I always get questions about what type of ink I use: regular everyday printer ink!


I ironed the transfer onto a plain white shirt:


The finished transfer:


Using this amazing Alexander Henry Mini Calaveras fabric…..


…I cut 3/4″ strips for a ruffle.


To create the ruffle I sewed straight down the middle of the fabric…..


….while gently holding my thread spool to create some tension. The strips ruffle right up.


The finished ruffle:


I pinned the ruffle around the Frida image and sewed it onto the shirt:


The finished image and ruffle:

Check out my other transfer tutorials for more details:
Pirate Matryoshka
Vintage Harvest Crate Labels/Patches
The Candy Dress



If you haven’t read the book Frida, I highly recommend it….or at least rent the movie. She’s one of my favorite artists. I was able to see many of her paintings in person in London at the Tate in June 2005. Among those included in the exhibition: The Bus, My Dress Hangs There, The Broken Column, and The Two Fridas. I spent 6 hours in the exhibition and didn’t want it to end.

Here are a few pages from my art journals:

Lyrics from the song Burn it Blue, sung by Lila Downs in the movie Frida. The words are stamped onto a collage I made from rice paper and a skeleton photo.

The above quote is from one of Frida’s journals: “I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return.”
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