We should like to have our homes attractive, with that personal touch which individualizes them, and we search with diligence for a means to the desired result. The use of block print is an easy and effective way and is not commonly used

Shultz, Rhea Fern

English

We should like to have our homes attractive, with that personal touch which individualizes them, and we search with diligence for a means to the desired result. The use of block print is an easy and effective way and is not commonly used.</p

Shultz, Rhea

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)

16 THE IOWA HOMEMAKER That Something Di_fferent WE SHOULD like to have our homes attractive, with that personal touch which individualizes them, and we search with diligence for a means to the desired result. The use of block print is an easy and effective way and is not commonly used. Block printing is the art of applying design to cloth by the use of a carved wood block which is painted and pressed against the cloth, thus leaving the im-print of the design on the cloth. It has a variety of uses, as plain or as elabor-ate as you wish. It may serve as a border on dresses, aprons, collars and might be used as an all-over pattern for cuffs, scarfs and bags of all types, or panels, or parts of a dress or apron, or even as a single design unit for pockets, sash ends, and in the corners of collars, cuffs, and handkerchiefs. For home decoration, it makes lovely all-over or border patterns for luncheon or card table cloths, table runners, cur-tains, pillows, lamp shades and lamp mats, or even as wall hangings. Its use is not limited by materials, as it works on all or any, from unbleached muslin or canvas, thru the list of cotton fabrics, to silks and velvets. The rough-er fabrics produce a lovlier texture than do those of smoother weave. An effec-tive table runner of deep yellow colored Japanese silk (preferably a rough, heavy weave) can be printed with a surface block and also a border block. Many ideas for the use and materials will come with practice in using the block. The design chosen also affects the use of the block somewhat, as a design which makes a good border will not always make a good surface pattern. If you do good designing, it is an added satisfaction to make your own designs, but if you do not care to make them, you can find many good units suitable for block printing by a careful study of mag-azines or books. In choosing the unit, be careful to choose one which is made up of masses of dark and light rather than one which is made up of lines, because a line design is lost unless ev-ery part of the line prints. Also the line design is not as interesting as the more compact unit. ' The design may be in any shape desired-square, round, oblong, or six or eight sided. But in any case, it must not be too large or it will seem bold. A good size for a square block is three inches; for rec-tangular, three by four inches, or even smaller. After the design is chosen, the next step is the preparation of the block. The block may be made from any soft wood which can be easily carved, as red gum, orange wood, or bass wood, or from a wood block covered with a heavy grade of good flooring linoleum or bat-tleship linoleum. Glue the linoleum to a wood block with wood glue, then the linoleum is easy to carve and does not splinter as badly as wood does. The design may be drawn directly on the block, or on tracing paper 'which is then pasted to the block. The design should also be drawn on the top or re-verse side of the block in exactly the same position as on the further side, so that there is no danger of turning By RHEA FERN SHULTZ the design the wrong way, if ordinary care is used. For cutting out the de-sign, special tools may be bought, or a sharp paring or pocket knife may be used. There are two methods of cut-ting the block; either cut out the back-ground, leaving the design for the print, or vice versa. Either method is good, according to the taste of the printer. For printing, the ordinary oil tube paints can be obtained at almost any drug store, and mixed with turpentine. A little lead or zinc white used with the color gives the paint a better tex-ture. If the paint is too thick it will dry stiff and pa&ty, while if it is too thin, the oil will cause it to spread. To get the right consistency, it is best to experiment by applying some paint to the block and then printing on a scrap of cheap cloth. Always be sure to mix enough paint at one time for the entire printing so there will be no difference in color. It may be necessary to add a few drops of turpentine to the paint from time An interesting -design for Block Printing. T ''The Thrilling Fellow Calls a 1 Yellow Phone 116 I I I I I I I to time, as turpentine evaporates and the paint gets stiffer. Apply the paint to the block with a brush or by stamp-ing the block on a pad filled with paint. Then with a soft cloth or cheesecloth, wipe off the edges of the block and any paint which is not supposed to show in the design. Do not have too much paint on the block, as it should print smoothly and evenly and should not cover up the texture of the cloth. If more than one color is desired this can be accomplished by applying the colors to the block with a brush, using differen,i colors on different parts of the block. The cloth to be printed must always be placed over a thick pad of paper or cloth. Jllold the printing block in ex-Suit fashions come and go, yet the tailored costume keeps growing in popularity with I :ae~~ di~:~m~~:~~:~ w:::n r~:~~ ~~ ize that their Spring wardrobe 1 is scarcely complete without one. We would like you to see Spring's newest versions of the l& tailored suit mode; we would like you to pass judgment on our taste of selection acquired through years of serving an ex-acting clientile. Priced 29.75 to 97.50 YOUNKER BROTHERS 1.--·--· D.~s .. M~i~~s" II • II I I • THE IOWA HOMEMAKER 17 act position wanted just above the cloth, then press down firmly as you would a rubber stamp or a letter seal. Be sure to press a ll parts down so that the full design will appear. A little experi-menting on cheap cloth or even paper will give skill in applying the block, and will a lso urove the advantage of · the pad under the cloth. By making a number of prints of the block on paper, then cutting them out and fitting them together in various forms, many interesting surface designs may be worked out from one block. For instance, it is easy to print one row one way, then turn the block upside down for the next row, or the even or half-step repeat may be used; in fact, you will find numerous ways of- turning a block with a good design unit on it. In using a border or surface pattern where only a part of the design is to be printed on t he cloth, cut a paper to fit a ll of the design, except the part wanted, and place this under the block; the design not wanted will then be print-ed on the paper. This is of very good use in making borders where each successive block must fit up a certain way, and also in turning corners. In making a border pattern with corners, a lways print the corners first (so they will be exactly alike), then if the design does not exact-ly fit, "fudge" it as it works out nearer the center. A bit of embroidery added to a design printed with one color gives character and color to the design. The best way to do this is to darn in fine threads of bright colors, using small amounts of them in the most effective parts of the design. This adds emphasis. On one table runner, we find a design stamped in bnrnt sienna (a rich reddish brown) on a golden-yellow background with a little brilliant red thread worked into the bird's head and tail, a bit of blue· lavender in the tail and wing. A shade of brownish-red is used in the flower petals, while .a deep orange yellow is used in the very center of the flower and the bird's beak, a lso to form the eye of the bird, and on the dots of the little bell-shaped flowers. Altho this may sound somewhat long and complicated to the beginner a little experimenting will prove how easy and effective this method of adornment is, and will open a large field for its use. r----·~:;~~~:~---.. -.. -·1 - 1 ! LAVENDER 1 f and 1 - 1 f NEW BOND ST. i • Direct from London 1 t i I Face Powder, Compacts, Per- I t fume, Talcum and the Incom- I_! parable Lavender Soap. i JUDISCH BROS. I L--~::_::__ J Homemaker as Citizen (Continued from Page 15) war we deserve what we will get-ax-phixiation." The second great r eason for joining the · league which Dr. Fisher gave was that we owed it as a na tional duty. "We ought not allow Europe to go her way. As a Christian nation we ought not pass by on the other side, but should play the part of the Good Samaritan. We prom-ised our boys to make the world safe for democracy. They fought, not to save u s taxes but to free the world from war. Are the white crosses our only tribunte? Will we not build a monument of human brotherhood? They kept faith with us, we must keep faith with them!" + -··-··--·-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-·+ t LADIES SUITS TO MEASURE I 1 Ladies' and Men's Suits i j Pressed and Cleaned i j MARTIN'S COLLEGE DRESS j ' Campustown~LUB Ames, Iowa l = Phone 21 i t 2518 Lincoln Way 1 +·-··-··-··-··-··-··-··- ··-··-··-··-··- + +·-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-·+ i I I Lowry's Pharmacy I . I ! Agency for Johnson's \V ood j ! Dyes, Enamels and Varnishes. i f I I THE REXALL STORE ! i ! +~·-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··--·-··--+ +·-··-··-··-··-··-··- ··-··-··-··-··-··-·+ I ANNEX TAILORS \ I AND CLEANERS i i Cleaning, Pressing, Repairing, i i i = Rug Cleaning j l -j Ladies' Work a Specialty i i Phone 369 Cranford Apts. i i i + .. -··-··-··-··-··-··-··-·-··-··-··--·-·+ +·-··-·-··-··-··-·--··- ··-·--··-··-·--·· I Watches Diamonds I I C. W. Dudgeon I i JEWELER I - 1 ! = t Ames rowa I +-··-··-··-:--··-··--·-··--·--·-··--·-·+ +----·---·--·---·----·-·----.. + .If Fashion I . Chats ~~- Betty Lou is a very chic young I woman who keeps up to the min-ute on a ll the newest fashion whims. We met her yesterday just !! coming from The Tilden Store, I bursting with fashion news. She 1 had just discovered how many fas-l cinating new accessories there are -~ ! for tailored suits. l She especially likes the Watch : • Fobs and she had lots of fun show- 1 t ing us new ways to wear them. =l First she tried one on her hat, then : on her suit pocket and next on her 1 l envelope bag. "And one little fob I ooly '"'" 50," ''' ,.,,, I I I l I Dangling from A Side Pocket She discovered that to be really I smart you must have a gay Ker-chief drooping out of the side hip j pocket of your suit and she tri-: umphantly demonstrated the clev-1 . er effect. i I I 1 ! i I i i i i I I i i 1 I Tied Stock Wise Next Betty Lou took out her new Scarf and gaily tied it about her neck. She then gaily turned her back to show us how very chic the Scarf looked tied the new way, $2. Betty Lou says she thinks it's perfectly lovely to find all of these clever new things in Ames. She says she never goes down-town without spending at least a few minutes at THE TILDEN STORE +.--..-tll-11 • II 11-tl-tll-tll II II + 

That Something Different

https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1666&amp;context=homemaker

That Something Different

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