Prototyping Tutorial - Patterns on Fabrics

This Instructable will teach you how to make a linocut. You can use this technique to print patterns on fabrics. It's a low range prototyping technique to improve the looks of your clothes.

Linocut is a printmaking technique. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a V-shaped knife. The parts that are cut remain white in the print, and the uncut parts will be inked. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller and then impressed on fabric. Now you have a pattern that can reproduce the same image over and over again.

The drawing on the linocut is always a reversal (mirror image) of the pattern. When you print it on your surface, the drawing become readable.

Enjoy the Instructable!

Step 1: Materials and Tools

You will need the following tools and materials to create your own T-shirt with a linocut print:

- A ruler
- A surface to roll out the ink
- A sheet of paper to draw your awesome pattern
- Silkscreen ink for printing on fabrics
- A pen
- A pencil
- A lino cutting tool with a set of blades
- A sheet of linoleum
- An ink roller (called a brayer)
- A T-shirt or some other fabric

Make sure you have a first aid kit nearby. Especially if it's your first linocut. You can easily cut your fingers with the sharp blades.

Step 2: Draw a Nice Design

Draw a nice design for your T-shirt on a piece of paper. Make sure the drawing isn't too detailed. A drawing with too much thin lines is more difficult to cut out the linoleum.

When you are satisfied with your design, you can start tracing it on a piece of tracing paper with a pencil. You don't have to draw the print in reversal. The tracing paper will help you to draw the design mirrored on the piece of linoleum.

Step 3: Trace the Drawing on the Linoleum Sheet

Place the sheet of tracing paper face down on the linoleum sheet. Press on the back of the tracing paper to transfer the graphite on the linoleum sheet. The best way to do this is by drawing with a grease pencil on the back of the paper. Make sure you press hard enough.

If everything goes well, the drawing is transferred properly onto the linoleum sheet.

Step 4: Start Carving the Blank Parts

Now you can start to carve out the drawing. The parts you cut away will not hold ink and will appear blank on your shirt. Be very patient when cutting, so you don't make any mistakes. Make sure you don't cut yourself with these sharp blades. The cutting tools can easily slip.

There are some safety hints and tips:

1. Always cut away from you.

2. Place your holding hand behind your cutting hand.

3. Always have a packet of band-aids within reach.

Step 5: Put Ink on the Brayer

Place a stroke of silkscreen ink on a surface or ink tray. I used a little sheet of aluminum. Start rolling the brayer up and down until the ink appears equally. It can take several minutes to spread the ink even across the aluminum plate.

Step 6: Put Ink on the Linoleum Sheet

Now you can roll the ink on the linoleum sheet. Make sure the entire surface is inked. It is recommended to put a scrap sheet of paper under the linocut. Otherwise you'll lose a lot of time cleaning your table.

Step 7: Print the Drawing on the Shirt

The first time you can test is with a piece of paper. Put the paper on top of the linocut to transfer the image. Roll the paper flat with a water bottle or a piece of PVC pipe. This will give you a properly transfer of ink onto the paper. Finally take the paper off the linoleum sheet. Now you can start over and duplicate the drawing.

When everything goes well you can start transferring the pattern onto your shirt.

Keep trying and experimenting with other patterns and designs. You will only get better at it.