Transfer Dyes - Stamps and Stamping

Today I stamped a pile of papers using the stamps I made on Wednesday for the Melville Textile Art Project. I used black only because this may be the single colour to be used for the Wagyl, but I am also going to try other colours as well on the samples I made.

I was very unhappy with my papers. There are distinct edges to the stamps and it is very difficult to control the amount of transfer dye for each print, so the impression varies. I decided to try printing them anyway, but I was reluctant to mess up the samples I had made. I nipped down the hill to The Fabric Shed and bought a metre of beige organza. The organzas that the project is using are being held behind the counter and I had a discussion with the saleslady about the project's progress. She is looking forward to seeing what comes of it all.

I had stamped some pattern vilene and greaseproof paper as well as the usual photocopy paper. Because the Wagyl section will be larger than A4 in some places, Juliet and Iris had been thinking of making just one transfer for each panel, so vilene seemed to be a possibility.

It is not. The surface is too absorbent and it's also quite thick so it doesn't get hot enough to sublimate the dye. I will try again, but today's experiments weren't too impressive.

I printed a 20cm strip of the beige organza with various papers, including the vilene. All except the vilene worked well and the stamp edges are far less obvious on the printed fabric. The uneven dye deposit didn't seem to make much difference either. Greaseproof paper transferred really well, so I have joined two pieces together with masking tape and stamped this larger piece.

I will try printing it tomorrow. If there is not a visible line where the sheets are joined this could be the answer to the Wagyl problem.