As a textile artist I am often exploring ways to diversify and methods of reaching a desired look on my work. Occasionally I like to add some text, a few words or a piece of prose I have written. Modge Podge is a medium I came across during my Moroccan Art Escape Holidays with Katherine Soutar Caddick a few years back. I had read a few posts and articles that said it didn’t really work for text. I wasn’t that easily deterred.
I hand dyed a piece of silk dupion which I plan to use for a wall art textile but really wanted it to have a piece of prose I wrote five years ago and have since tweaked a small bit.
I printed off a piece on normal printing paper with the text in white with a shadow behind the text. I applied it, left it to dry and then removed the excess paper to reveal… perfect text. I was delighted!
I have now printed and applied the text for the piece and that is drying.
So the process was very simple. Firstly, on your laptop or device, decide on an image or text you wish to apply to your fabric. Double check your spelling is correct and then horizontally flip your image/ text before saving it. Print it out on normal 70 to 80 grams printing paper…. do not use photographic paper. Make sure the fabric is clean, dry and pressed. Decide where you want your image to appear. At this point, you may want to tear the edges of your image to be less defined looking. Lay your fabric and your print on a piece of wipeable plastic or other surface as the Modge Podge is a bit messy and hard to remove. On the image side up, apply a layer of Modge Podge with a brush. Carefully lay it on the fabric, white side of the paper facing you. With a brayer, smooth it down being careful with any solution that may seep out. Leave to dry up to 24hrs. Using a soft sponge with cold water squeezed out, damped the surface of the paper and gently start rubbing the excess paper off to reveal your text. I turned mine over, covered it with a cotton cloth and pressed it with an iron in a silk setting until it was dry again. Wash your brayer and brush immediately in warm soapy water.
Once dry I decided to try applying satin acrylic varnish to bring up the text a bit more, this worked well. I will add a second coat when that’s dry.
With patience and care it is entirely possible to Modge Podge an image with text onto silk dupion fabric. I would think it would be even more successful on silk habotai as it is a smoother fabric. Also could be done on chiffon or silk muslin if a more translucent look is required. Always do a test piece and run through all the stages. Please note that this text was on an image, not text alone. I might try that next 🤓.
Any questions or comments please add below. See you next time! Never stop exploring.
Karima Rebecca Powell Artist 