Saturday 2 July 2011

Hand Printed Bunting

I've just finished making a new batch of print and wax bunting, with new designs and colours. I'd thought it would be quite nice to show you how i make it, and what goes behind each string of bunting..........perhaps even have a go yourself!

First, i cut the lino. I cut the lino into a flag shape, and carve the designs on to each plate. I have used three different designs, for each string of bunting.

Bunting lino plates


The plates are then printed, using the mangle, onto paper sheets and left to dry. When dry, they can then be cut into individual flags for the bunting.

Piles of unwaxed printed flags


The next process get a little messy....in fact printing in general is really messy, but it really is worth covering any surfaces that you don want to get ruined with newspaper! I use clear wax granules, and heat them in an old pan until then melt and get very hot. Obviously, you need to make sure that the wax doesn't get too hot and catch on fire, so vigilance is essential! Each flag is painted with a coat of hot wax and left to dry. Once dry,  it's possible to polish the print with a soft cloth.


clear wax granules

Once the wax on the flags are dry and polished, they can then threaded to together to make a string of bunting. 














This bunting is also available on Folksy and Etsy .

13 comments:

Anne E May said...

Thanks for sharing your process. I was wondering how you did that! I love your designs!

hanmade said...

gorgeous! i just love the detail in your designs x

Suze said...

They're so beautiful...and thank you for sharing.

textile artist said...

Beautiful!!! I have just been looking into lino printing and with a little courage and your inspiration may just give it a try.....

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing Amanda. I heard that Victorians used to dip letterpress posters in melted wax, laminating the Victorian way ;o) Might try that with one of my prints now I know what wax to use, thank you x

Kiran Ravilious said...

These are beautiful!

erasercarver said...

Absolutely gorgeous prints, Amanda. Thanks so much for sharing the waxing process, I might have to give that a try someday :)

Mangle Prints said...

Thank you, there's a lot of trial and error in the process, but I've found the trick is to make sure the wax is very hot when you brush it on, and use porous paper, or thin paper that doesn't have a sheen on it.
I really didn't know the Victorians dipped posters in wax, i suppose it gave them some protection against the weather, great idea!

mythreetrees said...

Wow! This looks such fun.I really must do more lino cutting.Your instuctions are really good and clear.

small caps said...

Thank you for sharing! It's interesting to see the waxing process. Do you do this with every print or just with the bunting? Cheers from Berlin, Sabrina

Mangle Prints said...

Hi Sabrina : )

I don't do this with every print, but have used it with some work in the past, especially "one off" pieces that also have collage incorporated in them.
Best wishes
Amanda

Anna said...

I love the bunting; I haven't used hot wax since I did batik some years ago. I think I've still got the little electric hot plate I used to heat the wax in my loft somewhere.

Chantal said...

Thanks for sharing this process Amanda. Your designs are so beautiful.