i've always wanted to print my own designs on fabric or other material, and ages ago joe got me a kit from a kickstarter project called lumi inkodye. the kit included 3 coloured dyes and clear printable sheets to make your own negative. the basic theory is that you create a negative from your own image, paint the dye on to the fabric, place it in the sun to develop. seems easy enough. so over the easter weekend i gave it a shot.the first step was to create the negative, i choose a photo that i took in tanzania in november. i wanted something with high contrast between black and white to give a strong printed image. so a zebra seemed like a good choice :)
the original image and the negative.
the negative was created by "cutting" out the main zebra pattern using photoshop, then converting the image to black and white. finally converting to negative before printing. i had to print the image twice onto the clear sheet to ensure the blacks where solid.
the next part of the project was to paint the dye onto the fabric in a darkish room. the dye is light sensitive so the darker the room the better. once the dye covered the fabric fairly evenly, you pin the negative into place. it then goes outside into direct sunlight for 10-12 min.
this bit didnt work as well as hoped. it was very very humid and hot on saturday, and the negative lifted and condensation formed between the print and the negative. oh well. after the 12 min, i took the whole lot back into the dark, removed the negative and washed it immediately in hot soapy water. twice. for good luck. this removes all the extra dye and stops it from developing where it shouldn't.
and this is the end result!
i am actually pretty happy with it!! the dye bleed a little due to the condensation, but it still looks great :)
next ill try a pillow i think :)
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