2.6 Fabric Decoration

• Identifying decorated fabrics; preparing recyclable cotton
• Tie and dye: marbling and pleating; dyes and fixatives
• Motif from the environment; stencil printing; alternate pattern layout
• Block print as a related print method; finishing, ironing, a simple tote bag

• identify fabrics decorated for familiarity
• tie and dye a fabric using marbling
• decorate a fabric using pleating technique
• print fabric using a stencil
• acknowledge tie and dye, and stencil printing as fabric decorating techniques

“Why do we finish a decorated fabric?”

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1. Identify decorated fabrics
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Name Kenyan decorated cloths such as kanga, kitenge and lesso, and sort dye methods from print methods.
2. Prepare cloth, dye and fixative
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Wash and iron recyclable cotton; mix a dye bath with a suitable fixative, including a natural option if used.
3. Tie-dye marbling
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Crumple, bind and dye cotton so the opened cloth shows a cloudy marble pattern.
4. Tie-dye pleating
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Accordion-fold cotton, bind, and dye to make stripes or chevrons, distinct from marbling.
5. A motif from the environment
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Draw a simple leaf, flower or local shape large enough to cut as a stencil window.
6. Cut a stencil (and meet block print)
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Cut the motif as a window in stiff paper; compare briefly with a stamped block, then keep the stencil for printing.
7. Plan an alternate pattern
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Mark a light grid on cloth and decide which cells receive the motif so the repeat is motif-gap-motif.
8. Stencil-print the alternate pattern
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Dab colour through the stencil on the ticked cells, lifting straight up so the motif stays sharp.
9. Finish a simple tote
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Rinse if needed, dry, iron, trim, and fold-stitch or glue a simple tote so the decorated cloth becomes usable.
10. Display and acknowledge the techniques
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Show the totes, name marbling, pleating and stencil (and block as cousin), and give kind feedback on layout and finish.