Stamped Skirt (보리밭 치마)

My first attempt at painting and stamping on a skirt!  I've had this in mind for quite a while, but it took some time to figure out exactly how I was going to do it. 

I used Jacquard Textile Colors on a white skirt from Dharma Trading Co.  (this one is unfortunately discontinued--I snagged two before they were gone!)

I learned some interesting things while working on this project:  (1) It's almost impossible to get a precise placement and a good print with an already-put-together garment on a gelli plate. (2) Jacquard Textile Paints will wash out pretty well, if you do it right away. I went through a couple of false starts before I got something I was happy with. I did use the gelli plate for the background--rolled out a thin layer of paint and just pressed the fabric randomly onto it for a blotchy, distressed look, which was pretty much what I was going for.



The text is the lyrics of 보리밭 (a song about walking through a barley field). At first I made a big forward-facing stamp (so I could use it on the gelli plate) using puff paint on craft foam, but I just couldn't get the print placed correctly on the skirt. I realized that only way I was going to get a good print and be able to position it just the way I wanted was by direct stamping. So my project went on hold while I made another stamp.



It's hand-cut craft foam glued onto a clear background.  (This took a very long time, and I'll probably never do it again!)  I split it into two narrower stamps, rather than one big one, so I could spread out the gathers on a small amount of fabric and position the stamp. This is still tricky.  Stamping fabric and then making it into a skirt seems like an obvious solution, but I have to wonder if the paint would gum things up. It does get a little stiff.  Worth a try, maybe. 



The middle tier is all text, and then it dips down into the bottom tier in places. I kept that part more indistinct by rolling the paint on the stamp unevenly and then not pressing down on the whole stamp.  I like the look. 



The big stamp is adapted from a Dancheong pattern. I got eight spaced more-or-less evenly around the bottom.





The apple green color is really bright.  I mixed it with some other colors, but it's still pretty bright. It's a good Korean color, though.  And it came out pretty close to what I'd pictured, so I'm happy with it! Now I have a couple of skirts and some ideas for Kate!