Gunnel Hag is simply stated, every art quilter's dream. What she can do to the fabric is astounding. You simply have to check out her blog and website. Read on to find a fun and easy tutorial.
I
have been creating patterns, pictures and textures for as long as I can
remember. Fabric, leather, paper, metal - nothing was safe. When I was studying
English at Stockholm University, Sweden, I was introduced to master textile
printer Richard Kunzl, who taught me fabric screen printing in his wonderful
studio in Stockholm. That was it!
I
had found my calling.
After
art college in London, England, I emigrated to Canada. Not being able to find
work as a textile designer, I started tie dyeing T-shirts, sold them to
boutiques in Toronto and realized that I had in fact started my own business:
Trees Textile Designers and Printers.
I
produced my line of hand printed clothing and accessories (sold across Canada
and in the U.S.) as well as custom screen printed fabrics. For 12 years I was a
professor in the Textile Studio at Sheridan College in Oakville. Now I teach
workshops in my studio in Toronto as well as at quilt guilds, conferences and
art schools. I also produce printed fabrics for theatre, ballet, film and
television. Most of the fabrics are used in costumes. For several years I
worked on the fabulous musical “The Lion King”, which is still running in
England and other countries - and my Colour Vie pigments are still being used
in these productions.
Screen printed silk crepe de chine by Gunnel Hag)
The
Colour Vie Pigment System was born after I became quite allergic to some of the
chemicals used in the pigments and base that were available in the early 80s.
Colour Vie on the other hand is water based and environmentally friendly,
completely washable and light fast. Its three parts consist of a liquid pure
fabric Pigment that you mix with a colourless Base and Resfix (a fixative). The
Base is what actually binds the pigment colour to the fabric. The colours are
completely inter-mixable, so you can create an endless palette of hues and
shades for your fabrics. Needless to say, this is what I use almost exclusively
in my work.
“Heartbreak Hotel” screen printed quilt published in Quilting
Arts 2009)
When
it comes to creating pattern and texture on fabric, the possibilities are
literally endless!
On
my blog I am currently having a lot of fun creating prints from ordinary
objects - a bit of an obsession of mine. To challenge myself I decided to print
with objects starting with the letter A and working my way through the alphabet
towards Z! I am currently working on the letter “I”. To see what patterns I
have been printed so far please check out my
blog.
“C" is for Credit Card” by Gunnel Hag
There
are so many techniques for imparting colour onto cloth that it was hard to
decide what tutorial to teach. I always get questions about screen printing on
fabric, so that is what I decided to share with you:
The
easy do-it-yourself-from-scratch version of Screen Printing on Fabric
A
Bit of History:
The
first silk-screen was made in France in the early 19th century. It evolved from
the paper stencils used in Japan as early as the 8th century A.D., where
strands of human hair were often used to keep the stencil together.
The
silk-screen is a frame of wood (or plastic or metal) with a mesh stretched
tightly over it. The mesh used to be silk, hence the name silk screen printing.
A stencil is adhered to the screen, and the design is then printed on the
fabric by pushing the dye across the screen and through the open areas of the
stencil with a squeegee.
The
Screen:
- The important thing is
that the screen needs to lie flat on your table.
- You can make a silk
screen from a wooden stretcher frame (available in art supply
stores), an
old picture frame or even a wooden or plastic embroidery hoop.
-
Instead of buying mesh from a screen print supplier, you can just use a curtain
sheer.
- Use a staple gun to
stretch the mesh/sheer tightly over the frame. There should be no
“bubbles” or loose bits of sheer.
- Trim off the excess
mesh/sheer with scissors.
Student’s screen made from stretcher bars
Taping
the screen:
- The screen will need to
be taped all around to cover the staples and to create a “dye well”, a
taped area measuring about 1.5” wide inside the wooden frame. (See
Picture). Duct tape works very well - packing tape is also good, but a bit
trickier to handle. The dye well will stop the pigment/paint/dye from
bleeding into your print area.
Student’s screen taped with duct tape
The
Squeegee:
-
You can buy a squeegee in an art supply store OR just use a plastic drywall
spreader or a credit card for smaller prints (a lot cheaper).
The
Print Table:
For
printing on fabric you will need a slightly padded surface.
- Simply put a couple of
layers of polar fleece, thin foam rubber or a blanket on your table and
cover it with some old smooth fabric.
-You
can also make yourself a pallet from a piece of plywood or insulation foam
board and cover it in the same way as above. Very useful if you print more or
less the same size fabric all the time. You can pin your fabric straight onto
the pallet, print it and then put away the pallet until next time you use it.
Print pallet made from insulation foam, foam rubber and
fabric
The
Design:
1.
Draw a design on paper. Newsprint works really well.
It can be your own simple design. The paper stencil technique is
perfect for designs that are not too detailed. Start simple. Think of a
silhouette. As you become more comfortable with cutting out the paper, you will
get more adventurous and use more detail in your designs.
2.
Use an X-acto knife or scissors to cut out your design from the paper. The open
areas in your design is where the pigment will print onto the fabric.
- Tape your design to the
bottom (back) of your screen using masking tape.
Student holding her cut paper stencil ready to tape onto the
back of the screen
Student taping her paper stencil onto the back of her
screen
Printing:
1.
Pin or tape your ironed fabric to the pallet/table surface.
2.
Place the screen on top of the fabric that you want to print.
3.
Put your pigment along one inside side of the screen. (Make sure you use a
water based pigment/ink,
so you can wash screen and squeegee under your tap after use).
4.
Place your squeegee at about 80 degrees angle behind the pigment and push it
across
the screen with a firm even pressure while holding the screen securely
with
one
hand (or get a friend to help). Squeegee the pigment back and forth a
couple
of times (more times if the fabric you are printing on is thick and absorbent).
Student printing with a drywall
smoother used as a squeegee
- Lift up the screen and
repeat the print as many times as you want. The paper stencil will
automatically stick to the screen after you’ve printed once. A word of
warning here: Make sure you don’t leave the screen for too long before you
screen print your second print. If the pigment dries into the screen, the
mesh gets blocked, making further prints impossible with that
screen.
Washing
the screen:
-
Wash the screen and squeegee. (Like Colour Vie, many pigments are water based,
so your screen, squeegee and all your utensils can be washed with water). When
the screen has dried, you are ready to create another design and print more
fabric!
Heat
setting the fabric:
-
Look at the instructions for your pigment, paint or dye. Most pigments
need to be heat set to become completely wash fast. This can be done by ironing
the fabric with an iron set on a cotton setting after the fabric has dried.
There
are thousands of different and fun ways of creating your own personal patterns
and textures on fabric. Check my
web site for more information, upcoming
workshops (in screen printing as well as other exciting techniques) and loads
of pictures. The Customer Gallery has some awesome printed quilts and fabrics!
“Drunkard’s Path” screen printed - not quilted by
Gunnel Hag
Thank you so much for sharing your work with us and how you create it!
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