Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens Hardcover-spiral – Illustrated, August 1, 2008

Of all the books I have seen so far (many), in the realm of DIY printing on paper and fabric in your own home, this one stands out as the most accessible. I make relief prints on linen with linocut and carved rubber blocks, primarily. The projects outlined in the book are simple and attractive.Each project takes you from #1 "Prepare work surface" to " the final step: "Clean up." In between there are many innovative tips for printing at home without expensive equipment. The comparison charts included in the book are also extremely helpful. There is one for Choosing Inks and Paints for the various surfaces you are printing. Very helpful since inks vary wildly and produce very different results! There is another chart for choosing which print method is best for your project (stamp printing, stencil, screen printing, etc.) And another chart showing colors. This all sounds simplistic but the charts can save you a ton of experimenting and mistakes and expense in inks (believe me, I know.) Even if you are well-practiced in printing techniques, you will find the text and photos user-friendly and comprehensive.An envelope attached to back inside cover of book includes a bonus: paper design templates for all the printing projects in the book. I create my own images, but the templates are good to have to understand scale and/or incorporate into your own work.And the best part of this book? It is spiral bound. Have you ever struggled with trying to refer to a DIY book while immersed in a project?? The spiral binding allows the pages to lie flat and loose and easily turned (even with inky hands), as you follow the steps for your printing project.I think we tend to gravitate towards books where the author's design-sense corresponds to our own, in some way. That is the case with Lena Corwin's book, for me. However, I think most would find her designs and projects entirely appealing and enjoyable.

The book is thorough, interesting, well written, fabulous photographs, with that cool spiral binding which makes craft books practical. Love it, will return to it frequently, as a permanent resource. The techniques covered are stamping, stenciling, screen printing, so if you are interested in any of those three, you will be covered. Each project shown has a list of tools and materials, a very thorough step by step how-to, and large, clear photogrpahs illustrating each step. Diagrams are also clear and helpful. Projects include a baby quilt, a sheet set, upholstery, lampshades, pouches, tablecloth, napkins, and more. Additional general printing advice, recommended reading, and resources add to the usefulness of Printing by Hand.I do have a complaint with Amazon. They either over pack, or not at all. This book was ordered with a hard page book for a child, which arrived fine, but did quite a bit of damage to Printing by Hand; all the corners are totally bent and the cover was torn. I doubt it was in that condition when it was shipped. I don't want to return, as there is no EXCHANGE policy. In other words, I will have to return it, wait to be refunded the original price, then re-order. Too much hassle and time. So while I am happy with the content of the book itself, not so happy with Amazon.

I waited untill I actually used this book to write a review.I like it a lot. She explains what type of ink you should use on what type of fabric and which technique to use, all on a handy chart. This is very handy and helpful when deciding on what to do with a project at hand. I decided to do some stenciling on canvas. I found the book to be helpful on what materials to buy (she even explains why you use it) and the technique. The only problem for me is that she uses fogged mylar and I cannot find that anywhere. I found clear ones but I wish she would have listed where (the references on the back were not of much help) but everything else I could find at an art store or Hobby Lobby/Michaels.The projects included in the book are really cute too. I'm going to try and make a baby blanket for my cousin.

This book turned out to be even more helpful and inspiring than I had hoped for. It answered many questions relating to different varieties of simple hand printing techniques such as: which inks, papers, and fabrics are best suited for each project; how to create stencils; how to transfer designs, how to repeat a pattern, how to work with screens, and on and on. There are many color photos showing step-by-step procedures. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. A lot of the printing projects are done on simple, natural fabrics like linen and muslin.The book itself is a spiral-bound, soft-cover book within a hard cover shell. This allows you to lay the pages flat so that you can look at them hands-free as you work.I love this book. I was already familiar with many types of printing such as linoleum and gocco, but I still learned a great deal. So I would have to say this book is for novices and experienced alike.I guarantee you that you will come away from this book inspired and ready to create.

I enjoy a variety of arts and crafts and always love combining mediums. Printing on fabric seemed like a great next step and I bumped into this book in the store and immediately put it on my wish list. One long year later, I finally bought this book for myself and I had totally hyped it up in my mind.Still, somehow this book totally blew my mind ... it comes with great charts about what medium to use for different materials and fun in-depth explanations of a number of different kinds of printing. I'm a graphic designer by day but never took printmaking. This book is the perfect book for me but I also thing it will be easy for beginners to try a new medium. Wow, I absolutely love this book and am finally not intimidated to start creating my own fabric creations. Thank you, Lena for a most inspiring and beautiful book!

Great book. Wish I had known about it when I started out. A+

Livro bem pratico. Aprendi muitas coisas! Na realidade o livro ensina a tecnica e com criatividade voce pode fazer de forma mais adequada a nossa realidade. Estampei panos de pratos.

Love it!

Not enough information.

Printing by hand is a useful reference book with good instruction for anyone who likes be more creative with fabric or make unique gifts etc.