Natural Leaf Print Pillows – Screenprinting Experiments
We’ve been experimenting with using real leaves in our latest Printing Projects. To begin with, we picked leaves from outside our own garden. Then we used them as stencils underneath a printing screen. They were Printed onto 100% cotton and finally made up into cushion covers. I love the authentic natural feel. A hand-crafted touch of greenery that enhances the decor in our living space.
What a delight to source the greenery for the prints from my own garden.
To start with we picked some leaves from a prolific small sword fern. This worked quite well, but the thick stems meant a higher concentration of paint through the screen in those areas. Next we tried leaves from our yellow daisy bush (Euryops chrysanthemoides or African Bush Daisy) These worked really well! The gently lobed leaves created a more delicate print.
Natural Leaf Print –
Method We TriedTo start with, we taped off the square section of the screen we wanted to use. Then we placed the leaves in position on the first piece of fabric to be printed. We placed the screen over the leaves and pulled the paint over. The result was lovely. The leaf shapes remained the natural colour of the cotton fabric, and the balance was filled in with green. The fabric paint on the screen ensured that the leaves stuck to the screen. This enabled a few more copies of each print could be made.
It’s always fun to experiment. We used fresh leaves, but I have dried and pressed a bunch more leaves to experiment with in the future.
Have a look at some of the other print projects we have done for Edenwell Prints and a cheerful stencilled leaf print we did a while ago.