COLOURIST - Blog

Inspiration from Books

6/4/2018

There are many books published about textile design but fewer focusing on heat transfer printing specifically. Two we have found helpful are featured below. Although neither of them is new they are both available from Amazon.

Designing and Printing Textiles - June Fish
Published by The Crowood Press

Packed with creative ideas and with a particularly strong section on working from paper onto fabric.

Heat Transfer Techniques - Dawn Dupree
Published by A&C Black

Lots of techniques explained and an excellent start point for experimenting withembossing, flocking and fusing.

February 14th, 2018

2/14/2018

It's easy to make your own unique ribbon designs using Colourist Heat Transfer Paints. White polyester ribbon makes the ideal base for your design. Just apply the paints to ordinary photcopying paper, let them dry then make the transfer using a domestic iron.
The ribbon in the picture was designed using Colourist Heat Transfer Paints in Lime, Violet and Aqua.

Christmas at Colourist

12/13/2017

It's the Christmas season again and as usual we've been busy getting out orders for everyone who needs their paint before the holidays. After 20 December we can't guarantee delieveries will arrive before Christmas so we will be closed from that date until Tuesday 2 January 2018.
We wish everyone a very happy Christmas and a colourful New Year.

Now You Can Use Colourist Heat Transfer Paints On Natural Fibres

4/12/2017

Attention everyone who loves working on silk, linen, cotton and other natural fibres. We have just launched our new Pre-fixer liquid which can be applied to any fabric made with natural fibres. Once dry the fabric can be printed using Colourist Heat Transfer Paints printed onto the treated fabric to achieve the same bright, colourfast results you see on synthetics.
Heat transfer paints were originally developed for printing synthetics and they have become established as one of the leading printing products for achieving depth of colour. The method of designing on paper has become enormously popular with textile designers as they are able to hone their designs before printing the finished item. However designers who like to work on natural fibres have not, until now, been able to achieve the same finish on their work as those working on synthetics. The introduction of Pre-Fixer has changed all this.
Colourist Pre-Fixer is easy to use. It is simply brushed or sprayed onto the surface of the chosen fabric and allowed to dry. Drying times vary according to the amount of liquid used but about an hour in most cases. The drying process can be speeded up using a heat gun or spreading the fabric on a radiator.

Jaunty January

1/17/2017

Just when everyone is a bit bored with dry January and the weather - which is the opposite - here's a nautical themed project to make you think of Spring.

Christmas Designing

12/14/2016

Three more TV shows on Hochanda before Christmas. We're showing how to create the colourful lampshade below and also ideas for ribbon and wrapping.
Have a fantastic Christmas and a very happy 2017.

Hochanda TV Shows

11/25/2016

So much going on at Colourist this week. It's the usual rush for the schools and universities at this time of year with the added excitment of our second and third days of TV shows. Hochanda have invited us back to demo new ideas with the paint. Next Thursday, 1 December, we're showing viewers how to design the felt cushion below. We're also doing designs with polka dots in lots of brilliant colours and a range of ideas for cityscapes. All things you can make easily before Christmas as gifts or just to jazz up your home before the guests arrive.

Colourist on TV

10/28/2016

A big thank you to the team at Hochanda TV for making our first TV shows so fantastic. Over three hours we managed to show lots of painting and printing ideas, introducing Colourist to a whole new audience. The response has been amazing. Even as the live shows were on air people were sending in pictures of fabric they have created using the paints. Lots of questions too about the paints and about irons and heat presses. Hochanda sold out of some of the lines but we have done a special range of 30ml bottles for Hochanda and you can get these direct from hochanda.com.
We'll be appearing again before Christmas so watch this space for dates and times.

HOCHANDA TV

10/17/2016

We're appearing on TV! On Wednesday 26 October Colourist Heat Transfer Paints will have three live shows at 8.00am, 11.00am and 1.00am. We'll be showing viewers how to use the paints to design their own household items including placemats, coasters, cushions and tea towels. See Hochanda on Freeview 65.

Knitting and Stitching Show Stand RCJ7

10/2/2016

We're nearly ready. The samples are made, the signs are printed the bottles of paint are waiting to be stowed in the van. Yes, we're off to Alexandra Palace in north London to take part in the year's biggest crafting show. We're launching our new work sheets with a special offer of a worksheet plus two free 30ml samples of Colourist Heat Transfer Paint for £5.00 plus there's a chance to win a whole set of 35 Colourist colours in the 50ml size in our free prize draw. So come and visit our stand, RCJ7, try your hand at using the paints and join in with the fun.