Screen printed fabrics

I like to print fabric more than anything else...I have limited space so I can only use small screens.  I have some very large screens in the shed awaiting the summer when I can set up a table in the garden.

I print using stencils cut from thin paper. It takes a long time to cut the design with a scalpel and to get the screen ready .When I print I have to keep on going as I know the stencil will eventually fall apart or clog up. I do a run of as many as time will allow...or until I get fed up .Usually I start with a light colour, maybe a pink and add more red as I top up the ink to vary the colour after which I may add blue to change it to purple etc. I hang the prints to dry on the washing line.

These are some old prints I did which I made into bags and sold at a farmers market and on eBay. I printed it on paper first so that I can re cut the design and use it again.

I like to colour some of my prints by hand with fabric paints. I love the way one design can be changed in so many ways...

                                   These are old photos rescued from my old blog...
                   the camera was only a cheap and I cant  seem  to alter the photos very well.. 

This is one of the finished bags.........

I love to crochet....granny squares...

My Nana taught me how to crochet when I was very young...by the age of ten I was proficient enough to teach my Auntie....My first completed project was a granny square poncho.....then a hippie bag ...then more bags which my dad took to work and sold to the girls in his office....This is how I began. I did not get much money for the bags, but enough to buy more wool and keep up production....They were made properly and I lined them...I sewed the lining on my Nans beautiful singer sewing machine and hand stitched the lining in....I also sold suede hippie belts and wrist bands....

The small blanket above was a gift for a friends baby...

I made this hat recently for myself...

This is work in progress....when it was finished I sold it on eBay ....

I made this bag after Christmas but still have not got around to lining it...I made the strap long and wide to wear across the body....I made this to go with my deep purple coat ...

The idea is to be hands free for shopping trips to Brighton.....One of my favourite pass times....down the lanes...wonderful shops...pubs and street cafes...

Work in progress !...I wish I had photos of all the things I have made...

Handmade gifts...girls applique cat tote bags...

This is how I make my patterns...it all starts as apicture in my head...then I cut paper to the size I want, adding seam allowences etc..I make notes on the pattern so that I will remember everything at a later date...I cut out the shapes and juggle it all around untill I am happy with the design...then I cut it from fabric....It takes me longer to choose the fabrics and trimmings than it does to sew the item up...I want everything to be as perfect as possible.

I made four different bags by altering the placement of the design...

These bags are lined in white cotton curtain weight fabric with a little pink rosebud design. I put wadding between the lining and main fabric to make the squishy and add body...The bottom corners are squared off..and the handles have been inserted and top stitched three times to make them as child proof as possible....They measure  width 31 cm...depth Not including the handle..25cm...just the right size for a little girl...

I put one of my cats in this bag to give an idea of the size.

Handmade gifts...fabric kittens in bags....

These are cute little kittens that have their own bag...the heads are fleece fabric, the bodies are cotton. All my dolls are filled with polyester stuffing... I buy pillows from Sainsburys which is just down the road from my house...The faces are hand embroidered.    I have put on a photo to show how the bags fit on the cat dolls.....

This cat and her kitten are sold...