Collograph Print on Paper and Fabric

I previously posted about some collograph printing that I did with Kim Major George and this print suggested stitching more than the others to me. 

Collograph print on paper approx 13 x 15 cm

I was going to stick to my normal approach of printing a background fabric and then adding stitch but I knew that I would need to try a number of different printing approaches to get the look I was seeking.  I do plan to trial some printing techniques but I thought that this would be perfect for a trial of a different type - digital printing. And here it is the design digitally printed on cloth by Fingerprint Fabric, and I am very pleased with the results and will definitely use them again.

Digital print on fabric approx 38 X 45cm

What I really like about the service they provide is that you can print small amounts of fabric at an affordable price. I have effectively printed a fat quarter...that was it...no requirement to print yardage and the fabric came very promptly which was just as well as I couldn't wait to see it.

The problem with printing my design larger was that the white bits also became larger, which I know shouldn't have be a surprise to me but they were definitely too prominent. So I decided to paint over the piece with so-called ecru dye, which looked scarily like dusky pink when the fabric was wet but has dried much lighter and may not be the colour I had in mind but I do think the piece looks better for toning down the white. The problem was probably that I used too much dye.

The (my?) photographs don't always show the subtle variations in colour but hopefully with the white envelope next the fabric you can see how I have changed the background. 

So the fabric has been soaked in soda, over dyed and washed and the colours are still looking as good as when I first received the fabric. So I'm very pleased. I know I said it was a trial piece but I have every intention of stitching on the fabric and it's probably an ideal piece to take on holiday. Watch this space!