- 1). Machine wash the upholstery fabric you intend to print to remove starch. Do not add fabric softener.
- 2). Iron any creases or wrinkles from the fabric.
- 3). Place the linoleum block on a piece of tracing paper and trace around its border with your pencil.
- 4). Remove the block and, using scissors, cut out the shape. Leave a half inch border of tracing paper around the outline that you drew.
- 5). Miter the corners of the tracing paper shape; cut across each corner at a diagonal, lining up your cuts with the outline's outer corners.
- 6). Draw the design you want to print on the tracing paper. Choose bold images that don't feature much fine detail to achieve the best printing results.
- 7). Place the design, face down, onto the linoleum block. Line up the outline of the block with the block's edges, fold down the borders and tape them to the side of the block to secure them in place.
- 8). Trace over the design with a pencil to transfer it to the linoleum block. Make sure your pencil tip is extra-sharp, as this will result in cleaner guidelines.
- 9). Remove the tracing paper from the linoleum block. An inverted image of your design should show up on the surface of your linoleum block.
- 10
Cut away the parts of the linoleum block you don't want to print. Use your linoleum cutting tool's wider tips to remove large areas of linoleum, and switch to finer tips to cut away narrower bits. - 11
Brush any debris from the completed block, wash off any remaining pencil lines with a little soap and water, and allow the block to dry. - 12
Arrange your washed and pressed upholstery fabric on a flat work surface and smooth out any creases. - 13
Place a dollop of fabric ink onto your inking surface (a piece of smooth glass or plexiglass makes a good inking surface) and roll over it with a brayer to distribute it across the inking surface. - 14
Load the brayer with a thin layer of fabric paint and roll it from corner to corner over your carved linoleum block. Apply just a thin layer of ink to the block; over-inking will result in a sloppy print. - 15
Place the block, inked-side down, onto the upholstery fabric. Slowly roll over the block with a rolling pin to apply pressure and transfer the image onto your fabric. - 16
Hold the fabric down with one hand and slowly remove the block. Apply another coat of ink and print the block on fabric again. Continue printing the block until you've covered all of the upholstery fabric with the pattern. - 17
Allow the printed fabric to dry and then set the fabric paint according to the manufacturer's instructions. Many fabric paints must be heat-set, either in a hot dryer or by ironing.
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