Design: Cecilia Hall (1999) Quality: Union linen Width: 135 cm Design length: 84 cm Color: Green 5 yard minimum. No returns on fabrics. Swatches are available for $ 25 each - refundable when an order is placed or sample is returned within 4 weeks. Delivery time: All fabrics are ordered from Sweden directly. If in stock, delivery time is about 2 weeks. If not in stock, delivery time is about 4 - 6 weeks. Please call for availability if in a hurry.
Printing fabric by hand requires precision, experience and patience.
The process starts when the artist's original pattern is transferred to screen stencils, one stencil for each color. A pattern usually has 12 to 16 colors, but sometimes as many as 28 different stencils are needed for one single design.
The dyes are blended by hand, made up of water, algae, salt & color pigment mixing up exactly the right colors for the various patterns is an art itself.
The blank cotton/linen, linen or cotton fabric is rolled out on two 30 meter long heated printing tables. On the rails along the edge of the table, special bolts are fitted to ensure that the stencils are exactly the right distance from each other during printing. Two printers then work from each side of the table, coloring in the stencils using a squeegee, which they move between them. In this way, the patterns are printed, section by section, color by color, until finally the base color goes on.
Once the printing is finished, the fabric has dried, the dyes are fixed and any superfluous dye is washed away. Only then is the fabric ready to be used.
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