I'm trying to come up with weekly reads on my blog. Since my work week technically starts on Tuesdays, I'll post a new tutorial for you every Tuesday of the week.
Week 1: Handmade Clothing Tags!
I came up with the idea of doing my own clothing tags after checking out local suppliers of professionally-made woven/ printed tags. The minimum order was around 5,000 pieces! Can you imagine?! That's 5000 x .80 per piece = a whopping 4k that I am NOT willing to take part! Plus, if I produce exactly 14 pieces of clothing per week on my first few months, that's like 56 labels a month totaling to 72 months worth of clothing tags. That's too much for a start up, indie label like mine.
SO, I thought of creating my own tags inspired by those tutorials at Jap mags like Cotton Friend and Threadbanger. Not only are they economical and ecofriendly, they also create a touch of whimsy and adds more to that handmade feel our label projects.
What you need:
Small bottle of non toxic Fabric Paint (mine's brown and bought from NBS for around Php50)
A small sponge roller (nice and easy application! I used my Prang brush and I totally wrecked it :( )
Stamp (I had mine handcrafted from my logo by a local corner artisan for just Php100)
A small, reusable container (don't worry, it's easy to scrub off with an old toothbrush once it dries off just don't use the ones for food.
Fabric (make sure that it absorbs the paint really well. I'll show you how to seal the paint later. I've done around 50 pieces in unbleached cheesecloth or katsa for hangtags and another 50 in a nice roll of 1 inch champagne coloured satin ribbon for the labels)
Old newspapers for lining your work area.
A couple of old magazines to place under your fabric to work as 'a stamping pad.'
Week 1: Handmade Clothing Tags!
I came up with the idea of doing my own clothing tags after checking out local suppliers of professionally-made woven/ printed tags. The minimum order was around 5,000 pieces! Can you imagine?! That's 5000 x .80 per piece = a whopping 4k that I am NOT willing to take part! Plus, if I produce exactly 14 pieces of clothing per week on my first few months, that's like 56 labels a month totaling to 72 months worth of clothing tags. That's too much for a start up, indie label like mine.
SO, I thought of creating my own tags inspired by those tutorials at Jap mags like Cotton Friend and Threadbanger. Not only are they economical and ecofriendly, they also create a touch of whimsy and adds more to that handmade feel our label projects.
What you need:
Small bottle of non toxic Fabric Paint (mine's brown and bought from NBS for around Php50)
A small sponge roller (nice and easy application! I used my Prang brush and I totally wrecked it :( )
Stamp (I had mine handcrafted from my logo by a local corner artisan for just Php100)
A small, reusable container (don't worry, it's easy to scrub off with an old toothbrush once it dries off just don't use the ones for food.
Fabric (make sure that it absorbs the paint really well. I'll show you how to seal the paint later. I've done around 50 pieces in unbleached cheesecloth or katsa for hangtags and another 50 in a nice roll of 1 inch champagne coloured satin ribbon for the labels)
Old newspapers for lining your work area.
A couple of old magazines to place under your fabric to work as 'a stamping pad.'
Let's start!
1. Start off by pouring paint to your plastic container (make sure you've lined your work area with old newspapers). Fabric paint tends to dry up pretty fast so make sure you pour just enough paint (around a tablespoon) and keep the cap tightly closed. Brush the stamp's face with paint. Make sure you apply it in clean, even strokes. Avoid glops to make sure the image stays nice and crisp.
2. Position the stamp to the fabric of your choice (this one is the cheesecloth version). Press it firmly on top of the stamping pad (oops, not shown here) and count to 5 before lifting the stamp off.
3. Keep on stamping but make sure you leave enough space around it for allowance.
4. Heat seal the fabric paint by pressing it for about a minute or two. I don't use this ceramic straightener for my hair since I'm too lazy for that so I use it for pressing seams and hems, and in this case, heat sealing the fabric :) Leave it to hang dry for a couple of days to let the fabric absorb the paint real well before handwashing it.
Here's the final product (will post soon of tags sewn on my clothes :P )
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