Block Printing Fabric for Cushions and Curtains

Why Hand-Printed Fabric Belongs in an Old House

There is a particular pleasure in walking into a Georgian or Victorian room and finding curtains that are not quite machine-perfect. A slight variation in the spacing of a motif, a softer edge where the block met the cloth — these are the marks of something made by hand, and they sit beautifully against uneven lime plaster, worn floorboards and a fireplace that has seen three centuries of soot. Hand block printing has dressed British interiors for centuries, arriving with imported Indian cottons in the seventeenth century and later finding its way into Arts and Crafts homes where Morris and his circle printed walls and fabrics by similar means.

The good news is that you do not need a studio, a press or a great deal of money. You need a piece of cloth, a carved block, a roller, some ink and a long table. What follows is the practical route I would recommend to anyone wanting cushions or curtains that look as though they have always been in the room.

Choosing Cloth That Suits a Heritage Interior

The fabric determines everything. A loose, slubby weave will swallow your motif and blur the edges; a very fine silk will show every wobble of the hand. For cushions, a medium-weight linen or half-linen is close to ideal — firm enough to hold a crisp edge, textured enough to look at home on a battered sofa. For curtains, a cotton duck or a heavier linen with a decent weight will hang well and take ink reliably.

Wash and press your cloth before you print. Natural fibres shrink, and fabric often carries a sizing or finish that resists ink. A hot wash and a hot iron removes both problems, and it means your finished curtains will not shrink the first time they are cleaned.

• Linen and half-linen: best all-round choice, prints crisply, ages gracefully.
• Cotton duck and drill: economical, sturdy, excellent for curtain panels.
• Wool and wool blends: beautiful for upholstery and heavier cushions, but the pile can distort fine lines.
• Avoid: slippery synthetics, stretchy jersey, and anything with a stain-resistant coating.

Carving a Simple Motif

Start with a design no larger than 8cm across. Small blocks are easier to control, easier to register and cheaper to re-carve if the first attempt goes wrong. Think about motifs that suit old houses: a small oak leaf, a stylised thistle, a simple fleur-de-lys, a repeating scallop, a sprig of hops. Draw the design on tracing paper and transfer it to the block by rubbing the back of the paper with a pencil, so the graphite comes through in reverse.

Soft lino or a rubber carving block both work well; lino gives a firmer, more traditional edge, rubber is kinder on the wrist. Cut away the background with a shallow V-gouge, keeping your hands behind the blade and turning the block rather than the tool. Cut away more than you think you need — a common beginner's error is leaving background that prints as ugly grey blocks around the motif. Remember that everything you cut away will be white.

Test Inks on Scrap Cloth Before You Commit

Never print a final panel without testing. Fabric screen-printing inks give the most durable result and need heat-setting; fabric paints thinned slightly will also work but tend to sit more on the surface. Whatever you choose, run a proper test on offcuts of the exact cloth you plan to use.

Squeeze a little ink onto a sheet of glass or a smooth tile and roll it out with a foam or rubber roller until it makes a light, even ticking sound and the surface looks slightly tacky rather than wet. Over-inking is the single commonest fault: it bleeds under the block, fills the fine lines and ruins the crispness you carved for. Under-inking gives a patchy, faded print. Aim for the middle.

Print a row of test impressions, let them dry, then wash one sample at 30°C with a little detergent and iron another on the reverse with a hot iron for three minutes to set it. Compare. This tells you in an afternoon what might otherwise ruin a week's work.

Printing a Repeat by Hand

Set up a padded surface — a blanket or thick felt under a cotton sheet — so the block presses into the cloth rather than bouncing off a hard table. Mark your repeat lightly in tailor's chalk along the selvedge: for a 6cm motif, a 7cm spacing gives a pleasing rhythm with a little breathing room.

• Registration marks: use the corners of the block itself and a piece of masking tape as a guide for the first row.
• Ink every impression: re-roll the block each time, even if it looks inked.
• Press, do not rock: place the block down, press firmly with the flat of your hand or a rubber mallet, then lift straight up.
• Work in rows: complete one row across the width before starting the next, so you can see the pattern build.
• Allow slight variation: the tiny irregularities are what make the fabric read as handmade rather than printed.

For a half-drop repeat — the arrangement that gives most traditional curtain fabrics their movement — offset each alternate row by half the motif width. This hides any small wobbles in your registration and looks considerably more sophisticated than a straight grid.

Curing, Washing and Living With It

Let printed cloth dry flat for at least twenty-four hours, away from direct sun. Then heat-set by ironing on the reverse for three to five minutes per section, or by tumbling in a cool oven at around 150°C for a few minutes — though the iron is safer for small pieces. Leave cushions a full week before stuffing them, and curtains a few days before hanging.

Wash gently, inside out, at 30°C, and never tumble dry. Expect the print to soften and fade slightly over the years. In a country house that is not a fault but a virtue: the curtains in the morning room should look as though the sun has been coming through them for a decade. Print enough cloth for a spare cushion cover while you have the ink mixed — you will be glad of it later.