An Introduction to Sun Printing

Shopping list:

Let's get started!

It's been about 25 years since I've used sun printing paper but it's something I've been thinking about for a while! Who knew there was sun printing fabric?! I made this easy little square pin cushion using 8.5" cotton cyanotype fabric squares and buttons:

Finished project 1

This applique shirt was so simple...

Finished project 2

...and I love the extra button detail:

Finished project 3

The squares I used are the Blueprints on Fabric(pink on blue) shown below:

This is what the package of Blueprints looks like

In a nutshell, the 8.5" fabric squares in the kit are pretreated with a chemical that makes them change color in sunlight. I took the squares and pinned them to cardboard backing to keep them in place and laid various objects on top to experiment:

Try things out first to get an idea how this stuff works!

I placed the board in the sun for about 10 minutes and let the sunlight do its thing. The fabric darkens slightly (not to its dark blue you would expect):

Full, bright sunlight is best

Once the fabric has been in the sun for about 10 to 15 minutes, it is washed with cold water and the dark blue color appears:

Cold water wash brings out the color

I'm pretty sure there are over million things you could do with this fabric...here was my first hour of playing with it:

Example project pieces

I pinned buttons to the fabric in the shape of a heart:

The pins helped keep everything in place

I pinned one of my mother's old necklaces in place:

These turned out better than I expected!

I layered different types of lace:

The detail is amazing

I used a transparency with a superhero "POW" on it:

You can even use printed images to block out the sun

Stay tuned for more sun printing soon!


Customer Comments
Image of a notebook and pencil
 

If you'd rather speak with a human, please call toll-free from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada M-F 8am to 5pm PST

Phone: (800) 542-5227

Your item has been added to your shopping cart   Item Added to Cart
Your item has not been added to your shopping cart   Item Not Added

About Tiered Discount Levels

You can combine cotton and rayon clothing & accessories to get the greatest discounts. Your discount is figured on the total number of cotton and rayon items we ship, not how many of each type, style or size. Mix and match them to get the best discount.

Example: adding 4 each of 3 different T-shirts in any sizes will give you the 12+ price on all 12 shirts.

Visual aid for discount details

Visual aid for how discounts will look in cart

Some products may be excluded from discounts, and / or may discount only with themselves. If you have any questions at all please contact us toll free at 800-542-5227 (no buttons, just humans).

Drag and Drop chips to the Palette first.

ssl test img