Thermofax Printed Garments

I have been longing to get my sewing machine out since I saw the gorgeous selection of patterns and fabrics that The Draper’s Daughter have on their website.

        

They stock some beautiful linens and denims that are perfect for printing to make your garments a complete one off. I chose to start with Top 24 by Merchant and Mills – The pattern is simple to make with no zips or buttons – perfect! It also has a panel at the bottom that was perfect for printing on. I chose to use a Robert Kaufman Essex Linen in Steel , a grid design thermofax and Speedball Black Fabric Screen Printing Ink.        

I cut the pattern pieces first and then scatter printed the bottom panel. The Grid Thermofax is great for this as you can layer it up and don’t need to do much planning! When the ink was dry I gave it a very good iron to fix the ink.

 

The top was easy to sew with great step by step instructions. 

As soon as I had finished the Top 24 I was itching to make another garment. I went back to The Draper’s Daughter and purchased The Raglan Dress/Top Pattern by The Avid Seamstress and some Indigo Denim by Robert Kaufman. I amended the pattern a little as I wanted to add some pockets to the top.

 

I wanted to print a border along the bottom for this I used our Fabric Paint in Opaque White and an ink spot design. I wanted it a bit more regimented than the previous print so I pinned my cut front and back pieces to a print board and taped a metal ruler to the board. I lined the bottom of the Thermofax along the ruler. I also put another piece of masking tape onto the pattern where the top edge of the Thermofax should sit.

As the repeat would be every 10cm I put a piece of masking tape every 10cm vertically on the ruler – I then printed the top at 10cm, 30cm and 50cm – gave the print a quick dry with a hairdryer before printing the Ink Spot Thermofax in the gaps at 0cm, 20cm and 40cm – for these ones I rotated the Thermofax by 180′ to make the repeat less obvious.

The pattern had an invisible zip which wasn’t as bad to insert as I had feared. The instruction book that comes with the pattern is very comprehensive

and the blog is really useful with lots of hints and tips along with step by step photos.