Scroll saw T-shirts

[Dirts]

I had become interested in Woodcuts and was planning on carving linoleum patterns when it dawned on me that scroll saw pattern are just like woodcuts.
I had a deer pattern, and a Lori Irish heron and mallad sitting in the basement. I bought some tulip fabric paint at Walmart and it had good reviews. I tried rolling the paint on a piece of glass and then rolling the patterns but that was too scarce and the paint has to be thick. I found that you have to squirt the paint all over the pattern thick and then even it out. I used my roller. All the 1/4 inch patterns were glued to 1 inch pine board so it makes it easier to hold them and pick them up. I put a piece cardboard between the front and back.
When you press them down the do stick so you have to start peeling them off on one side and once it starts pulling away lift the pattern up. They look like woodcuts. The irregular patterns press better and not large rectangular. I had a crappie cut out so I put two crappies on the front of a blue shirt. Wash the shirts before inking. I have some canoe lake scenes and some fantastic fish patterns. The ideas are endless. The shirts have to sit flat for 24 hrs. If you mess it up just quickly throw it into the washing machine with Mr. Clean multi surface cleaner. You can immediately spray the shirt and then throw it in the washer. Wearable scroll saw patterns.
Food for thought

[JimSawyer]

Pictures??
What a fantastic idea...
This place never ceases to amaze me...
21 years with a scroll saw, and I'm still learning things..
Thanks Dirts...

[Forester21]

I'd love to see pictures of your shirts... also of the blocks you used. Neat idea
T

[Dirts]

Blocks for fabric painting

I use patterns that the outside line is the object and accessories that highlight it. Lori Irish's animals are very simple. I just cut them out of 1/4 inch cheap plywood. Then I put them on a piece of pine. I take a metal washer and a pencil and I put the pencil in the washer and then I trace the outside of the object so the outside of the washer is touching the pattern at one time. I then cut out the outline on the pine and then I glue the pattern to the pine backboard. If I were giving them to someone I would stain the background dark and the pattern light or visa versa. These are my fabric painting blocks. Lori Irish has a flying goose pattern that I want to put on the back of my grey hooded sweatshirt and I think I'm going to use dark blue paint. Our newspaper has a great kayaker as a logo symbol and I'm going to blow that up with a copy machine and use that.
You could make a hawian shirt by repeating the pattern of a fish all around the circumfirence.

[Wood Dog]

Sound good, I too would love to see a photo. Thanks for sharing.

[Dirts]

What no pictures.

Sorry I was never that interested in sending photos or taking them. I'll just have to stand on 30 yrs of law enforcement. Its like rubber stamping on your clothes. You could even monogram your shirts. I even thought of cutting a fish pattern and repeat it all over on a T so it looks like a Hawian shirt Northwoods shirt. Wearable scroll saw with no marketing names. I have two milk crates of filed patterns and a library of pattern books that need dusting.

[Dirts]

A picture is worth a thousand words

My relationship with my computer does not allow kodiak moments.
I just read that they usually use a sponge to apply the ink to the woodcuts in India. I would think it would be a natural sponge because the ink has to be applied thick. One artist said she hits the block with a mallet. I'm going to try my big hard rubber hammer.
You will just have to take my word for it. My word is gold and you can take it to the bank. Notice I didn't say which bank.

[Dirts]

chipped pattern

I was cutting out my flying goose when I noticed that a piece of the pattern fell out. I could flip the pattern and print it on fabric but for some reason I want the head to face to my right. Then as I thought about it I remembered that the ink has a fine pointed nozzle so you can write with it so I can go back and fill in that space on the fabric.
Food for thought
Do right hand scrollers cut clockwise and leftys counter clockwise.
Do right handers have their patterns face their right side and leftys face there patterns to the right.

[Dirts]

My fabric printing shop is busy.

I just cut out two Sheila Bergner leaf patterns. I enlarged them on a copy machine so lines would have more spacing for ink. I did the bluegill and the muskie pattern. The designs look unique and compliment shirts. Next I'm going to be cutting out designs for the grandaughters shirts. I'm also a beekeeper so I'll use Sue Meys bee pattern she used on her candle holder and I will print bees all over the shirt.
My Downe Syndrome son has been bringing me all his t-shirts for printing and hes been going through my pattern books.
Things that might help:
As soon as you bring the fabric paint home store it upside down.
Im using a roller after I squirt the paint on the pattern. Try and roll so ink is smooth. Sometime you will get little globs on parts of the pattern. They actually compliment the pattern. Once you press the pattern and pick it up thats it. Sometimes the ink impression is sparse in some places and I even have had parts where the wood grain transfer. My suggestion is leave it alone.
Thats a woodcut print and its art.
Wash off pattern with rubbing alcohol and roller right after printing. I've been using Mr. Clean. Try and soak fine lines that have filled with paint.
My son had a green and a red sweatshirt. I put a blue muskie on the green one and a green muskie on the red sweatshirt. There awesome.
I have been using the 77 spray adhesive and it holds too good. My patterns are not lifting with a hair dryer or rubbing alcohol.
Dave and I sat at the computer and ordered some awesome bass and fish patterns that look real and are cut with big spacing.
Scrollsaw wearables is habit forming.

[Dirts]

Pattern on, pattern off,pattern on, pattern off.

David washed his shirt with strong detergent and the pattern became a runaway. Would you believe in magic.
Another obstacle in how to strengthen the ink. Then it dawned on me to paint the patterns after they dry with clear fabric fusion which is an adhesive. I'm going to even try adding it to the paint. Its like when I paint the porch outside I added a whole container of Ultimate wood glue to the paint to try and increase adhesion. I found out it was not the durability of the paint that was the problem it was the sand sticking to everyones shoes. They kept sanding the paint off the deck.
I also looked into the durability further and the suggestion was shirts inside out, no detergent on a perm cycle.
Ill post an update on my experiment.
I just had an idea which would be an extreme and that would be to coat the wood pattern with gel bleach and then stamp a colored shirt, but thats a very extreme measure because bleach is a carcinagen and the american cancer society advises women to find alternatives.

[Dirts]

Think I found the solution

Recieved a new pattern in the mail today. It was a black bass from White Tail Designs. I printed it on two shirts but before I rolled the ink I squirted some Allene's fabric fusion into the fabric paint and then I printed my Bass.
I read where fly tyers were mixing paint with the fabric fusion for durability and strength. I also tried removing a pattern from one of my shirts by washing it in Mr. Clean and it came out the way it went in. So now I'm thinking maybe it was the blend of the shirt material.
Sorry I just put so many posts here because I wanted to try and work out any knots so it would be easier for anyone wanting to print apparel.

[Dirts]

Make sure right side of pattern facing fabric.

When you mount a pattern with writing like "Gone Fishing" make sure when you print the pattern on the shirt the the wording is not reversed. Make sure the pattern is in the right position. Its like the ambulance decal is printed reversed on the front of the vehicles so when people look in their rear view mirror they read ambulance not ecnalubma.

[Forester21]

Suggestions - use cotton shirts. Wash them before painting. Use the little bottles of craft paint (acrylics). Once the paint is dry throw the shirts in the drier for a half hour or so.

I've painted many shirts with my kids (along with just being a messy painter). The paint will stay on for years.
T

[Dirts]

Thank you

Theresa. Thanks for the reinforcement

[Dirts]

Pattern orientation

I found that certain patterns are difficult to judge when applying the pattern to clothing so I took a straight edge and put it through the center widthwise on the front of the pattern. I marked that line on both sides on the edge of the back board. I then turned the pattern over and connected the marks with a straight line on the backboard. So now I just look at the collar and shoulder line and parallel that line to orientate patterns correctly.
Theirs not a Lora Irish North American animal that I haven't made a woodcut pattern out of.