Another round of sun printed fabric

Please note that I have decided to post shortly after midnight my time for AEDM because Leah, our host isn't posting daily links as she has in previous years.  And it makes the dates less confusing, too.

For my August once-monthly tutorial, I led my readers through the pros and cons of various ways to sun print fabric.  Then I showed how I sun printed my fabric.  If you are new to my blog and would like to read the post, it is here.  As I explained, I am a simple dyer and don't use any harsh chemicals or dyes.

Like the first time I sun printed fabric, I started with two pieces of plastic bag covered cardboard.  To that, this time I added a plastic "for sale" sign I found and didn't have to cover.  Also like the first time, I soaked my old bed sheets I had torn to size.  They are better than any PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabric you will find!  It's because they have been washed so many times, all the sizing was washed out years ago.

Like before, I used two colors of fluid acrylic paint.  Note how the sun no longer reaches much of my front porch desk.

The same as before, I added water to my brush and mingled the two colors on the fabric.

This time, instead of using the vintage skeleton keys, I used old house and auto keys I found in my stash.  The skeleton keys are rounded and didn't lie flat, so didn't leave a very good impression.

I barely had enough keys to cover the front of the scrappy book cover and two pockets.

That meant I had to wait until the front of the journal was dry before I could paint the fabric that would get sewn on the inside of my scrappy journal.

I was not disappointed when I removed the key because the sun had done a fantastic job of leaving its mark on the fabric.

This turned out lovely, and even though the paint dried lighter, it is still darker than the washed out image shown here.  The woes of November sunshine.

Now that I had enough keys, I could start on the inside fabric.  But I had to wait a day because the sun had gone away by the time I was preparing this piece.

I didn't realize until after I removed the keys, that I had not left enough room at the top for a seam allowance.  The woes, trials, and tribulations of a non-sewer.

Also, because I didn't care for how the pockets came out,

I tore two more pieces, painted them, and created two new pockets.

Thank you for joining me today while I created a few more sun printed fabrics over a two day period.  Remember, all you need is some very good pigment-rich paint, fabric, water, and the sun.  Your pieces can come out as well as mine did.  Again, I appreciate you dropping by.



This is Day 4 of AEDM.