Meow

I've been busy dyeing, even if I haven't been busy doing blog posts.  Another shirt using the Dances With Raisins color from Dharma with my leopard design.  Nice kitty.  I'll just sit quietly over here.

Stencil

I haven't been doing blog posts, but I've been busy. This is a new stencil I cut and a shirt I made using it.

Figures

You know, it isn't easy to find anatomically correct line drawings for dragonflies. But I was able to find some good photos of some. Photos taken to help catalog and identify various ones. So that is what I used to create the shape for this one.

It's a lot easier to find pictures of koi in all sorts of poses.

Hair

Look, it's a self portrait of me in the morning.

Train

I doubt my Dad will read my blog before tomorrow afternoon. This is a picture of his birthday present. He's a big train buff and I know he'll like it. And not just because his daughter made it for him.

Stencils

You may notice the repeat appearance of the practice shirt underneath this stencil. I just cut out the stencil and wanted to test to see how it would turn out. I plan to recut it since it is a bit uneven. But considering it is only a practice for testing it's good enough. I like the design and think it'll look really nice along a neckline.

Reynolds freezer paper works pretty well. It isn't as durable as a plastic one, but it's a lot cheaper. Especially for practicing, or for designs you aren't sure if you'll like.

Under the tshirt I use a flexible cutting board so the wax doesn't soak through to the other side and leave shadows. Or for something flat like a scarf, to keep the wax off my work table. If it is too small for my board I use a plastic bag.

If you are using enough wax to do the batik design, the shirt should stick to the board a bit. It'll come right off, but it means the wax has soaked all the way through the fabric. You should still check the back for missed spots.

The sticking can also be useful. The stencil in the picture has a lot of detail. If I fill in sections at either end it helps keep the shirt from moving while I work on the rest.