Wood Block Printing on Fabric?

I’ve only done silkscreening (well, and printing using machines from drawings on paper) on T-shirts, and it worked well.

I have done silkscreens as well. I like how the stencil looks when you carve it out yourself. Im just wondering if it will work as well on fabric as it does on paper?

How do you keep it from glopping around the edges?

I made something similar (I think they were called lino blocks) when I was in school. If I remember correctly, the key is to use a brush to put the ink/paint/dye on the stamp, and to have the fabric perfectly smooth but not stretched too tautly. Good luck!

using blocks or lino printing on fabric is way hard to get it to look good…if i was you i would suggest a stencil or screen print…there lots of good sites that can teach you how…just google home made screen printing and you will find some good tips

Yeah, honestly, I wouldn’t use a woodblock to make prints for fabric. Buy a silkscreen and do it that way, it’s much easier.

I would recommend linocut. Very similar look to woodcut, but easier to carve. There are rubber plates now that are softer and thicker than the actual battleship linoleum which in thin and often backed with burlap. You might want to try both and also try mounting them on a wood block before printing. You need an acrylic or solvent-based ink, preferably one specifically for fabric. Acrylic will clean up with soap and water. For solvent-based you’d need a solvent like mineral spirits, rubber gloves, and good ventilation. You also need a brayer to roll out the ink and a lincut tool, which typically comes with 6 interchangeable blades. Don’t bother buying an inking plate as a sheet of plexi or glass work just as well.
Bonus: These plates work pretty well with a regular inkpad on paper if you want to “proof” you design. You can also draw your design on paper with pencil (#2 or softer), flip it onto the plate, and rub your design on with the back of a spoon to get a reverse image that will be flipped again when you print it.
Have fun!

I use woodblocks to print on fabric/shirts. I use oil-based litho or relief inks; they take awhile to dry, but then are very crisp images that hold up well to repeated washing and don’t have a ‘crispy’ feel. I also heat-set the shirts with an iron. I am looking for inks that are more specific to this use, though—the texture that allows you to roll it out and apply with a brayer, but specifically designed for fabric. Nearly all fabric inks are too liquidy. So I look forward to others’ ideas on this topic!

My shirts on Etsy: link

Thank you very much for your answer. SO what type of ink do you use right now??

I too am interested in block printing on fabric – I screen print as well, but I am interested in more traditional, ancient, and low-chemical printing. I think of screenprinting as not really a repacement, it’s a more modern and more chemical-intensive alternative. And it’s a stencil method, not a reief method of image transfering. Dharmatrading.com is a good place for inks – they recommend the same fabric screenprinting inks (Speedball, Versatex, and Jaquard brands) for block and stencil printing. They are water-based, and some are rated non-toxic and non-flameable. I just bought the Speedball brand, and am experimenting. The looser viscocity than oil or water based block printing ink (not fabric specific) will be an interesting factor. I’m looking to do yardage block printing a la galbraithandpaul.com. My understanding is that the textile specific inks (water and acrylic based, vs. oil based) produce a better hand feel, and dry quicker so you can print multiple colors and not wait, say, two weeks. Now if I can find out how to make the larger format (about 18” x18”) blocks – glue linolium blocks on masonite? I’ll be in business.

I block print on t shirts and use Jaquard brand “Professional Screen Print Ink” It has a heavier body than Versatex, and water-based. It gets nice and tacky when it is on the inking plat a while; You have to play around with it. It is permanent when you heat set it (I use a heat press, that’s another tricky thing).
The best block to use for fabric are the rubber-type ones. I get “Blick’s EZ Carve” from www.dickblick.com they also sell the ink, I think.
good luck! :)