2017 #12 Hybrid Inks: Distress Oxide Reinkers on fabric {by Helen Chilton}

2017 Topic 12: Hybrid Inks

As you know, we have been rocking the whole Hybrid ink vibe here at PaperArtsy for the past week. Lots of experiments being undertaken by our blogging team, and of course, Helen is the 'Queen of innovation', so I hope you enjoy her use of Distress Oxide re-inkers onto fabric as much as I do!

Hi everyone, it's Helen with you today, and I'd like to share with you a project using the Distress Oxide re-inkers on fabric.

I particularly like the re-inkers because of their intense colour. I've had a go with various types of fabric and various techniques then put them all together to make a patchwork piece.

The great fun here is working out where to put each piece and adding all the details. I thought I'd experiment first with different techniques and materials.

I like the way the stripes of colour on the right blended into each other.

To stamp with the re-inkers I just dropped some onto a craft mat, swooshed the stamp in it and pressed down.

The flower on the patterned material is painted with the Spiced Marmalade re-inker - this technique would work for any patterned fabric with an outline design. The colours even work on the open weave burlap - love the soft, muted effect here.

Lastly we've got the buckram which is a stiffened fabric used in curtain pelmets apparently - I had to look it up!  It's got starch in it so when you wet it it softens up and then as it dries it stiffens up again, meaning you can shape it. I found it purely by chance and was planning to use it to make fabric postcards as it stamps well. As you can see. it also holds an embossed pattern. The doodling on the right is done straight from the bottle.

Once I'd had a good play I started to fit the pieces together.  I've used some Ink and The Dog stamps: Ancestors Plate 1 for the main image and a selection of others for the background (Words Plate 4, Wings Plate 2 and 4). All these sets are A6 (ie quarter-plate size)

I've stitched them  onto a piece of card underneath. I've left the fraying bits and cotton threads as I like them.

Just keep building it up. I chose black thread for the main image to make it pop.

Then start adding all the details - this is my favourite part. The words are from a Tim Holtz Remnant rub-on - I was really pleased with the way it worked on fabric as I wasn't sure it would take.

I cut round some doodling here to add it to the edge and turned my buttons upside down as the top was too shiny. Pearl buttons often have interesting colours on the back!

I loved making this project as it's made from scratch - all the fabric's been hand decorated and because the same re-inker colours are used, it hangs together well. Anything with tiny detail appeals to me. As there are now 12 new colours of Distress Oxides available you could have a play with those. However, remember that the colours are not water proof so it's not suitable for anything you might want to wash. Might be interesting to stitch the pieces together though and spritz with water afterwards to see what happens?!

Blog: A Splash of Colour

Teaching at The Craft Barn: 
September 20th and 23rd
October 18th and 28th

Oh Helen, this turned out brilliantly! I love all the textures of the different fabrics, and now you have an awesome sampler of your experiment to hang on the wall too! I love how the re-inkers seem to be fantastic on all the mediums you tried, and in all kinds of ways too! ~Leandra

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