Today is Marbling Fabric Day...
I am using the Jacquard Marbling Kit
There is lots of prep work to marble fabric:
You need to wash and dry your fabric.
You need to cut your fabric to fit the pan.
You need to pre-soak your fabric in alum...
You need to hang dry your alum soaked fabric.
I did all of this prep-work last week.
I mixed up the carrageenan water
and allowed it to rest in the frig for a few days:
Here is my set up in the
laundry room @ the Palace:
Alum soaked fabric on right
Paints in squirt bottles
Carrageenan water in 12 x 18 inch pan
Marbled fabrics will be stacked on the left
(Paper is layered between the marbled fabrics)
The Jacquard Marbling kit
comes with the paints pre-mixed.
I added Gall to help the paints spread
across the carrageenan water.
I mixed a few of my own colors
from the basic colors in the kit.
Here goes...
This is what the paint looks like floating
in the pan of carrageenan.
I put gray paint down first,
added black paint,
added light purple,
then dark purple
I prefer an organic look
so I did not comb the paints.
In this photo the fabric is laying on top
of the paints in the pan...
This is the print on the fabric.
I am in love!
Adding blue and red paints to the pan...
Gray and Black Paint only...
Black Paint spreads very fast...
Light blue and dark blue paint added.
Purple and Blue paints.
Here are a few colors I mixed myself
floating in the pan:
Gray, Orange, Pink with yellow
Here is the print on fabric.
This time I put a drop of paint in the center...
each drop pushed the previous drop away...
It just gets bigger and bigger
with each drop of paint added.
Here is the print on fabric.
Your carrageenan water and your paints
all need to be at room temperature
when you begin printing.
You need to add Gall to help the paints spread.
You need to have your papers ready so you can
stack the fabric prints on top of one another
with a sheet of paper in between.
Once the prep work is done...
you can print all day long!
I put black paint down first,
then I quickly squirted blue paint
all over the top,
before it could spread,
I put the fabric on and printed it.
I put light purple and dark purple paint on first,
then quickly squirted light blue on top,
then very quickly put the fabric on
before it spreads.
I did the same thing with black and green paints.
I did the same thing with purple and blue paints.
You need to work quickly, but I do like this look.
This time I marbled on white fabric...
I plan to use some of my hand dyes
to marble on next time around!
I marbled fabric for 4 hours
and made 34 prints...
I left the marbled prints stacked with paper
in between
until I was done marbling...
then I washed them all out in the sink
and hung them to dry on the rack.
I will heat set them next week...
and they will be ready to use!
Next time I marble I plan to try
Jo Fitsell's technique.
I purchased this DVD from Interweave
2 weeks ago for $5.
I have watched it twice
and I am ready to give it a try!
More to Come...
Want to learn more about marbling?
May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,
LuAnn Kessi
