Heatsetting your Gelli Printed Fabric

Useful Information about how to heat set your fabric, followed by some unexpected results that contradicted all I thought I knew.
In this video I do all the ironing and washing so you can prioritise how you finish your fabric prints in the way you need to. I include tips on how to use what you have at home to get a great result in finishing your fabric.

[@lorettawestcolourgardenstu9007]

That was very informative. Thank you. Saved me time in experimenting!

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

I'm glad it helped! Apologies for the delay in responding, I have been travelling.

[@phoebebaker1575]

Nice to see your results even though they weren’t what you expected.

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

Thanks. Not everything works.😄

[@jill7307]

Thanks, Leonie. This was really helpful information. I am excited to try it with acrylics.

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

Thank you Jill! I am glad you found it helpful.

[@katpaints]

Very interesting! Back about 40 years ago I did a bit of fabric painting using dyes. We always washed our fabrics and used no fabric softeners or other treatments before painting. That was what could cause paint or dye to wash out. A fabric medium was always mixed into acrylic paint if we used it. I've seen people add a layer of it beneath or above the acrtlic paint which makes nu sense to me. Dyes do leave a very nice hand, not noticeable to the eye or touch. Those who painted on canvas shoes heat set them in the dryer. Now I need to dig out my bottles and see if there is anything left!

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

Thanks Kathleen I hadn't heard of heat setting dyed fabric shoes in the dryer! 😀 I totally agree with your comments on preparing fabric for dyeing. I was also taught to use fabric medium, but as my tests show it may not be necessary. I still like to make double sure, so for clothing I would still probably use fabric medium, but for embroidery or infrequently washed items I probably wouldn't bother. The other thing about fabric medium is, in my experience, that it makes the acrylic paste for fluid for longer, which can be most useful for layered prints, when you might be fiddling with getting stencils in place.

[@katpaints]

@@leonieandrewsart4137 - yes! And fabric dye is much more fluid so that makes sense.

[@jennifersdoglife]

What kind of paint did you use? Textile paint? Not quite clear to me. Thank you.

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

Hi Jennifer, in this project I used regular acrylic paints, the type used for painting and also for one of the prints, I used acrylic paint mixed with textile base, also called textile medium, which gives regular acrylic paints similar properties to fabric paint. I know that lots of people use acrylic paint for their gelli printing on paper, so I wanted to avoid people needing to go out and buy yet more supplies. The texile base/medium can be mixed with any acrylic paint. I do use fabric paint as well - I've just used it in the video I posted today. Thanks for your questions. Season's greetings to you!😊

[@jennifersdoglife]

Hello thanks for sharing your experiment! I live in the US what is a silicone mat?

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

Hi Jennifer, I used a sheet of non-stick baking paper, the type of thing you might use when baking cookies.

[@jennifersdoglife]

@@leonieandrewsart4137 OK thank you!

[@ladya1953]

Hi, Leonie 🙂 Did you notice any loss of drapability in the samples? What I mean is, was there a difference in the softness or suppleness in the samples using the base as opposed to the blue one without the base in the paint? Is the blue sample stiffer?

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

Good question Faith. I found the ' hand' on them comparable. This is particularly the case after they have been washed in the washing machine. I use a 15 minute cold cycle with liquid detergent. I have no trouble sewing with them, either by hand or machine. I consider them to be comparable to using a professional screen printing ink on fabric. Indeed I think they are a bit softer than the commercial inks. I hope this answers your question.

[@ladya1953]

@@leonieandrewsart4137 I'm blushing now: I forgot you also quilt, so do speak the lingo. So sorry! 🙄😔 Good to know about the difference in acrylics vs inks. That surprises me. (I've not used inks yet.) Also, I wonder what the result would be if, when pulling a ghost print, you lightly misted the plate with water. Would you pull more of the color? I am totally inexperienced, so just asking questions.

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

You definitely get colour from a ghost print. I tend to use them as a background and then print over them a second time. If you used related colours you could get some lovely veil effects. I have used inks, they require heat setting, generally steaming, so it can be a bit of a fiddle. I would love to see what you do to. Are you on KZbin or Instagram. BTW there are no silly questions here, I appreciate you asking.

[@jillh3955]

Since this video aired, have you come to any conclusion as to why the original sample faded in the wash?

[@leonieandrewsart4137]

Hi Jill, I have reviewed my process and I think the cause was that I used some very thin paint, left over on the plate. I did run the cloth through a standard wash cycle, so I think the combination was just too much. Now I use a shorter cold wash cycle with liquid detergent and I have had no losses through that process.