2016 #12 Fabric Heart {by Helen Chilton}

 2016 Topic 12: Fabric

Hi everyone Helen here. Tonight I'd like to share with you a post about fabric.

I've chosen to work with white cotton fabric and Infusions. I've used them to dye the fabric and also to stamp and stencil with. I do like experimenting, as you know, so thought I'd see what effects I could get. You end up with a lovely watercoloury effect, quite vintage and soft. 

Once I'd spritzed the fabric to activate the Infusions, I ironed it to dry it, (ironing also serves to fade the colours slightly) covering first with a sheet of copy paper. The paper picks up colour from the Infusions and also a lovely texture - don't throw it away - I used it to stamp the main images onto.

Iron your fabric and sprinkle on the Infusions - I chose Are You Cerise, A Bit Jaded and Lemoncello:

Spritz with water and and move around with your fingers if need be:

Iron dry, covering first with copy paper. Cut into heart shapes and stamp Mini Ink and the Dog images MN10 and MN45 in centre for guidance (I was going to use the images like this but then turned over the copy paper and saw the lovely iron off colours and pattern):

 MN10 

MN45

Next stamp some background images MN46 and MN74 VersaMark the stamp and sprinkle on some Infusions:

MN46 

MN74

Rub the powder in:

Spritz:

and stamp:

Now stencil - this is Tim Holtz Tracks THS044: lay down stencil and sprinkle over powder:

Spritz:

Heat dry:

Carry on stamping and stencilling as much as you like:

Stamp main images and text on the iron off paper in black archival ink:

Use Bondaweb to iron onto hearts:

To finish off: add a torn piece of coloured fabric for the hanging loop, pin, stitch round the edges in black and stuff lightly.

And there you have it - my fabric heart. I deliberately left the seam showing so that the whole of the text pieces showed right up to the edge. I also didn't over stuff it as I didn't want it too round - it's supposed to look old, shabby, a bit worn - the Infusions are perfect for this.

You could add embellishments as well but I didn't want to cover up the background. There are lots of shapes you could make - birds, fish, flowers - all simple to cut out and sew, so why don't you have a go!

Helen

Oh Helen, so dreamy, brilliant colour combinations from the Infusions and using the waste paper from beneath the fabric was a great move as it really ties in beautifully. The outer seam is a nice touch, really adds to the shabby chic effect. ~Darcy

We would love to see how you interpret this topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #12: Fabric, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Fabric link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, June 26th 2016. The winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.