DIY Sunprint Fabric

This DIY sunprint fabric is an awesome project to do because you can use the fabric to make so many different things! It can turn into a sundress, blouse, tapestry, pictures that can be framed, or pretty much anything that you can make out of fabric. It’s a little time consuming to make, but I think the outcome is totally worth it.

Materials:

Fabric
Plant cuttings (whatever plant you want)
Pins
Foam core board big enough for your fabric
Iron

The first step is to get everything put into place. You’ll want to assemble everything inside with no direct light. Cut your fabric to the right size and iron it to make sure there are no wrinkles, which could cast shadows. Keeping the fabric a little taut, pin it to the foam core board.

For the plant cuttings, the tighter they are to the board, the darker the silhouette will be. If pinned a little loosely or not tight to the fabric, it will create a soft outline, so play around a little and see what you like. All of your cuttings should be completely dry. Pin each one in place (this is where it gets a little tedious and long).

Once everything has been secured, bring it outside. Make sure keep the board flat and don’t move the cuttings during the exposure time, as this will make for softer silhouettes. Depending on what kind of fabric you have, your exposure time may be 8 minutes (silks) up to 20 minutes (cotton). Make sure you read what it says when you buy your fabric.

Now you bring your fabric back inside and take off all the pins and plant cuttings. Rinse the fabric until the water is clear to set it.