Friday 2 October 2009

Pattern Ladies


First prints of the vintage sewing pattern ladies have turned out well! I've printed bags, book covers and small purses, and if I ignore all the kitchen unpacking that still has to happen and sew instead, I'll have them in the shop by Monday. Seems perfectly possible!



I'm still trying to make up my mind about the 'ghostliness' of some of the prints. I struggle to print large areas of flat colour with lino blocks, so I'm considering reworking some of these silhouettes into something like line drawings. But on the other hand, this texture is what I like about block printing, and perhaps it's just a matter of printing in the right colours.

What do you think? (And is it just me, or do different colours of silkscreen ink smell different?)

13 comments:

Sam said...

Love these Jesse!

Yes, the inks smell different; I thought I was crazy :)

Unknown said...

i love them!! do they really smell different?? am gonna check that then :)

sangy

Krystle said...

I love the designs! I don't know much about printing though... I would probably prefer them on a plain background. An outline might look nice on printed fabric.

That's my two cents :-)

Pippa said...

These are gorgeous! I bought some striped fabric a couple of weeks ago which i have been meaning to print on - your lovely pattern ladies have reinspired me. I like the 'ghostliness' - it goes with the 'vintaginess' of the ladies. I've had no success with lino printing on fabric - I can't get ink coverage anything like as uniform as yours which drives me nuts because I really enjoy the lino process on paper. Anyway, these are great!

Heather Moore said...

I love them - such an active print and sure to be a bit hit!

Narimasu said...

I love the 'ghostliness' of the prints. It makes it look as thought the vintage ladies were materializing and examining the new fabrics and wondering what it would have been like to have been made out of them. Love your work!

Susan Scott said...

You always have such unique ideas!

I like the pink ladies especially because you can see the pattern underneath.

Pinktulip said...

Very nice, Jezze! They really look vintage and I think that was the idea? Sounds like fun to play around with printing and ink!

Sherrin said...

I like these! and I know what you mean about flat colour. It can be hard to achieve. I know I find it hard! And YES! The inks do smell different. I notice this most when I'm heat setting with my iron.

*ceci* said...

pretty, pretty, pretty!

Richenda said...

I really love this design. I started dabbling with printing fabric with my letterpress, but didn't get too far. I am totally inspired to try it again after seeing all of beautiful work.

kat said...

Hi Jesse - these are really great!

HomeSweet Jenny said...

Too cool! There's something I love about those vintage sewing pattern models. I wish I had their posture...