Block Printed Fabric

Hello! I've been brainstorming some REALLY last minute gifts that I can give to some of my family members, and last weekend I went to Old Navy while they were having a huge sale and picked up lots of great stuff! I love their accessories because they're usually inexpensive but so cute! I saw some scarves on sale for less than $10 and figured that it would be used or gifted somehow, so why not buy it. I chose a plain white one with the thought of using one of my [many] linoleum stamps.

I thought about what I wanted to do with the scarf, and initially I thought it would be a good idea to use fabric paint so that if it got wet the color wouldn't run. But when I put the paint on the linoleum stamp I was using, I realized the paint was too runny and my print would just come out like a big blob. If you were doing something like a circle or triangles (which would both be so cute!) it might work ok, but my stamp has grooves in it.

I ended up just using my Speedball water soluable block printing ink in gold, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if the scarf gets wet.

I started out by laying the scarf on top of a canvas dropcloth. (Which was previously a curtain in my living room. It was time for a change.) My scarf was pretty wrinkly so I did iron it before starting.

Then I rolled out my ink onto the stamp that I chose to use, and began stamping in a line down the scarf. This scarf had a nice border around it so I left a little room in between the row and the border. Then you just continue through the whole scarf, evenly placing the stamp as best as you can. I placed every other row diagonally to the one next to it, so I wouldn't have rows of patterns. This way it looks like one big pattern, rather than rows of chevron. You can get fancy with it and do different stamps and different rows. The possibilities are really endless.

The best part about this scarf is that because it's square, it doesn't even have to be a scarf. I might use it on Monday for a Christmas brunch I'm hosting for Dom's mom as a table runner. It's sort of an awkward scarf because it's square. It looks like it's swallowing my neck and head because it's so big.


Printing on fabric is so so easy, and you can use it for anything. You could look through the clearance fabric at JoAnne's or Hobby Lobby and turn it into something amazing! And you don't even have to do a block printed design. You could make a stamp out of a potato! Then you could use your fabric for a whole slew of things; decorative pillows, scarves, table runners, tapestries, curtains, clothing, tea towels...

Get my drift?

So if there are any gifts that you still have to buy, consider making it instead! Home made gifts are especially great if you have a tiny budget but want to give an amazing gift. The fact that you put your own thought and work into something is worth a million bucks in my book.

Good luck with the last of your gift buying! Dom and I went out today and I have to say, the stores are wrought with Christmas shopping frenzy. Get out there while you can!

I can't wait to share my Christmas brunch with you on Monday!