Sunflower shoes

Last month I discovered Colourcraft's fabric paints and I painted some shoes with a galaxy design. I am hooked! This time I decided to stencil some shoes with a sunflower design on them.


Armed with a pair of white trainers, sponges, tape and the fabulous fabric paints I set to work and I had a ball.

Firstly, I removed the laces and then taped the rubber strip around the base of the shoes using masking tape. I used smaller pieces of tape around the top edge to ensure I got in as close as possible without taping the fabric of the shoe. I then used a thicker tape to cover the larger section.

I taped the daisy/sunflower stencil at various intervals around the shoe and using a pencil, I traced the outline. I did this so I could plan out the design and the number of sunflowers.


To achieve the variations in the yellow colour, I mixed a little red and white with yellow so that I had several yellow shades.  I then used a paint brush to paint inside the pencil lines.

I continued to paint all around the shoe and within the pencil lines.  I couldn't decide whether or not to remove the pencil lines, but I decided that they added something so I left them in.  I also painted the entire tongue of the shoe yellow as it made it brighter.

I love them ! I hope that you have a go - I would love to see what you make :)

fabric paint opaque

Up-cycling fabric with Linoleum printing

Hello! In the middle of August I was at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK teaching workshops. One of the workshops was using linoleum blocks to up-cycle fabric. That is, we carved small blocks which we printed on fabric to make it even more interesting!
I wanted to share my technique as well as some of the work my students did that weekend.
So here we go!

I started off with cutting a piece of soft cut linoleum into a piece 5cm x 10 cm. I marked off a 5cm x 5cm area and carved my design in there. I use the blank half to hold the block still while I carve! Makes it much easier for a small block. 

Some key things to remember!

• The areas you leave are what is going to print
• Always carve AWAY from your hand!
• If you have parts of your design emerge from the corners- you can create secondary designs while printing!

I cut away the part I did not carve and got my materials ready to print.

It's a good idea to print on paper before trying on fabric. You get a feel for how much paint you need on your roller as well as how thick the layer of paint needs to be. You also can see if you need to carve deeper or carve away more. Colourcraft fabric paint is ideal for this technique as it is creamy and thick and covers nicely!

The key here is to be gentle and even. I roll the roller in the paint gently to get an even coat and then again gently over the top of the block. If your layer is too thick it can squish into the lines, if its not applied evenly, you won't get a good print. Here are some not so good prints:

Once I'm satisfied with my design, I can print onto fabric! Remember, even coats of paint, and press onto the fabric.

Depending on your block design you can create secondary designs as you print them- think tiling!

Since I've left a lot of the block, and my design tiles nicely, you can cover quite a lot of your original fabric! This way you can create a new and fabulous textile, from one that you were tired of.

Here are some pictures from my workshop in Birmingham and the super cool designs my students were doing!

I even had a mum with her two kids!

Of course, you can scale up designs by using bigger blocks etc. It's great fun as you can see! And is really versatile.

I hope you enjoyed today's blog! I shall see you again soon. 

fabric paint opaque

Safety Lino Cutter Blade

Soft Cut Lino