Annabel Wrigley and her Lumi DIY

adding flowers

Inkodye Portrait

By Annabel Wrigley

Learn how to make a unique and darling portrait using Inkodye in this Lumi DIY.

Supplies

  • Inkodye in Magenta
  • Inkodye detergent
  • Inko film sheets 8.5 x 8.5”
  • Cotton fabric
  • Sponge paint brush
  • Picture frame glass
  • Sharpie

inkodye supplies

Steps

1. Follow the instructions to print your inkodye negatives from your home printer. I used the lumi app on my iphone to take a photo of Ruby and prepare the negative for printing, so nifty!!

2. I used my sharpies to really darken the areas on the negative that I wanted to be light. Hmm, does that make sense? The darker areas of the negative do not have as much sunlight activation..I really wanted to be sure that there was a big contrast. I even used the sharpies to make the whites of her eyes super white!

ruby negative
3. Prepare the area. I used an old plastic chopping board to work on. My fabric of choice was an old cotton cloth napkin, make sure it is not too knobby and bumpy!

4. Lay the fabric down

5. Pour some well shaken inkodye into a bowl

inkodye
6. Evenly apply the inkodye to the fabric with a foam brush (in a darkish room), Use some paper towel to blot any excess from the cloth. This is the most important part…don’t skip it!!

painting ink

7. Place the negative on top of the fabric and take the board with the fabric outside to a lovely sunny spot and WAIT! It was a bit windy at my place so I had to hold the negative down with a bbq tool, garden trowel and a stick. (I only had them on the edges).

printed fabric

8. Once the image was nice and bright (around 20 minutes) I popped inside and gave the fabric a really good wash with inkodye detergent until the water runs clear. After my fabric was dried and ironed I stared work on the image.

9. Ruby has this super sweet necklace made of pretty velvet flowers. It inspired me to cut a few flowery shapes from felt.

felt flowers
10. Pin them in place and then attach them with some simple French knots and stitching. Layer your flowers to create a lovely garland effect. I cut the fabric to 8.5”  x 12”

adding flowers

11.Fold down the top of the fabric around 1” and stitch it down.

sewing seam

12.Add a little dowel (mine is ¼” diameter) and add a little bit of twine for hanging. Voila! A one of a kind portrait

finished portrait