On the Surface | Potato Printing

Hey there! We have an exciting new series of tutorials for you. We are going to be showing you how to design fabric using all types of surface printing techniques. We are partnering with Dharma Trading Co. aka our favorite resource for buying basic high quality fabrics and surface design supplies. Our first tutorial is Potato Printing on the Willow Tank. We chose Dharma's Bamboo Rayon for this project. It is a heavier fabric but, is super soft and breathable. They have so many options!

Supplies:

• Potatoes
• Hobby Knife
• Stencil
• Soft Rubber Brayer
• Palette, an old picture frame works great for this
• Screen Printing Ink, we used Jaquard Screen Printing Ink but, we also love Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Ink
• Fabric
• Willow Tank Pattern 
• Towel or something soft to lay your fabric on

1. Prewash, dry and press your fabric.

2. The first step to creating a surface design with a potato stamp is to dream up a motif. I used this photo from Jen’s trip to Iceland that I found really inspiring; paired with my love of French fries and basic shapes.

3. Draw your shapes out on a piece of graph paper, tracing paper or copy paper (however you want to roll) and cut your shapes out. Now cut your potato in half. Because the cut side of the potato is wet the stencil will stick to the potato. Slap it on there. Using your hobby knife cut the flesh of the potato around your shape. Now your stamps are ready!

4. Cut out your Willow Tank pattern pieces and spread your fabric out over a soft service. Pin down. I have found that potato stamps don’t stamp very well on hard surfaces. For this part you could cover your ironing board with a towel or a piece of scrap fabric or a piece of felt.

5. Mix your color on your palette or use the color straight from the jar. Spread the ink into a thin layer on your palette using your soft rubber brayer. Once your brayer is all inked up use it to transfer the ink to your potato.

6. Gently and evenly press your potato onto the fabric. Repeat steps 4&5 until you have a surface design!

Have fun!