Learn How to Print on Anything! - The Art of Fabric Block Printing by Andria Green
My printing is all done at this six foot table!
When I was first approached about writing an instructional book about block printing, I was excited but certainly intimidated by the process. If you are a maker or artist yourself, you most likely have experienced imposter syndrome at some point in your career or creative journey. Even though I had been printing for a decade, it still felt like perhaps I didn’t have the experience needed to teach others how to block print. But then I remembered my favorite aspect of block printing: the accessibility. From the start of my business, what drew me first to block printing was the ease and versatility. While practice and skill do play a huge part in the creative process of block printing, the materials are easy to find, not too pricey, and the printing process itself doesn’t require a large amount of space or fancy tools. Now I get to share the joy and accessibility of block printing through my new book, and I hope that some of you will be inspired to pick up a carving tool and learn to print!
Something that has kept me inspired as an artist and maker over the past ten years is all of the different and fun ways I can use my blocks! I started with printing on towels, which are still some of my best selling products online and at shows. But learning how to sew various usable products with my hand printed fabric has been such a fun learning experience, and is helpful for inspiring you to create with your hand carved blocks. Maybe you don’t need hand printed towels in your kitchen (as a mom of a sometimes messy boy, I get it!), but you’d love to spruce up some of your plain clothing and add fun patterns! During the holidays, handmade gifts bring so much joy and meaning to the recipient, and a hand printed tote or pouch is an everyday thing that anyone can use!
This became a pillow in my book, but I have used it for shirts, pouches, and towels as well!
In my book, I teach twelve different projects to incorporate your hand carved stamps, but it doesn’t have to stop there. I have seen makers use blocks to print patterns on a wall instead of pricey wallpaper. I have seen event invitations that are hand printed with blocks and can be reused as frameable art. Block printing lends itself so well to crossovers with other art forms and ways of making. One of my favorite ways to enhance my block prints is to embroider details. A few years ago, I created a block printed patch for the back of a jacket I loved. I spent months working here and there to add embroidered details, and the end product was so beautiful and unique. If you are a quilter, try block printing on small pieces of fabric, and use them as the focal point for your quilt blocks. The possibilities are endless, and my hope is that this book will teach you how to start, so you can jump off from there and keep creating whatever you feel inspired to print!
Embroidered block print patches
