For those who are creatively inclined, it can be a struggle to find the right cloth at the crafts store. If you like the DIY route, though, it’s simple to make your own. Using a very simple stamp carving kit, you can hand stamp a textile to use anywhere in your home.
Here’s how to carve your own design and apply it to a muslin curtain panel which will be ready to display within just a couple of hours.
Lauren Donaldson
I chose a natural leaf pattern for this particular panel, with a blue and grey color scheme to help merge the space. Muslin cloth is light and airy and perfect for simple summer drapes. Use your imagination to develop your own design and pattern, and let the room supply inspiration.
Lauren Donaldson
Materials:
Stamp carving kit, such as rubber dividing block, linoleum cutter and gouge cutter tipsTracing paperPencilMuslin fabricAcrylic or cloth paintSponge brushThread and sewing machine to sew drape, or no-sew fabric glue like Fabri-Tac
Lauren Donaldson
Here’s what the rubber dividing block, linoleum cutter and gouge cutter tips look like.
Lauren Donaldson
1. On a sheet of tracing paper, then draw the pattern you want to pin onto your muslin. Simple shapes are easier to carve, but with time and patience, complex designs are manageable too.
Lauren Donaldson
2. Flip over the tracing paper and position it on the rubber dividing block. Hold it in place while you trace over the traces of this first layout. Press firmly to the carving block for the best transfer.
Lauren Donaldson
When you remove the paper, your layout should have transferred onto the block. It’s now ready for carving.
Lauren Donaldson
3. Utilize the gouge tools to carve out the rubber block. Carve slowly and carefully when you get around the traces of your own design. The kit includes two gouge cutters, one with a narrower tip. Use this one for dividing fine information.
Lauren Donaldson
The finished product: handcarved stamps. To give variety to the layout, I cut on two stamps with this project: the leaf shape and an inverse with all the leaf outline.
Lauren Donaldson
4. To speed up this process, you can buy a curtain board or repurpose one that you already own, preferably solid in color. To go the full DIY route, purchase muslin from the fabric store to make your own panel.
Cut the muslin to the desirable size. Fold over enough cloth near the top of the panel to let the curtain rod slide through. Stitch along with the sewing machine or use an instantaneous fabric glue like Fabri-Tac to ensure the flap.
To achieve a cleaner appearance, hem the edges. With this project, I abandoned the edges raw for a handmade feel.
Lauren Donaldson
5. Iron the drape board if needed. Then put it flat on your work surface and prepare yourself for stamping. Together with all the sponge brush, dab paint onto your hand-carved rubber stamp. You don’t require excessive paint, just an even coating of protection across the surface of the stamp. Try a couple of test prints on paper till you’re satisfied with the look.
Lauren Donaldson
6. Press your postage onto the fabric. Apply even pressure across the surface with your hand.
Lauren Donaldson
7. Stamp a random pattern across the panel or create a grid to get a uniform layout. Experiment on a scrap piece of cloth ahead to test out designs and create one which you like.
Lauren Donaldson
Your stamped textile can be used throughout your house, not simply as drapes. Use it to make cushions, tablecloths, bedding or to upholster furniture.
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