#MQGKeepCalmandSewOn No. 03: Flour-Resist Surface Design

by Bianca Springer

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Creating unique fabric designs can be achieved with a few simple items that can be found in a kitchen pantry. Using flour-resist, boring fabric can be painted to give a crackled or layered appearance. With this technique, a base fabric is covered with a flour paste, allowed to dry, then is cracked to expose the fabric beneath. Fabric paint is then applied to the surface, penetrating in between the cracks. After the paint dries overnight, the flour is removed to show the painted fabric beneath.

About the Contributor

Bianca Springer is an island girl born and raised in The Bahamas. She currently lives in Pearland, TX, with her brilliant husband and her two adorable children. She learned to sew by watching her mother, but her passion for the craft did not truly ignite until she became a mother herself. She derives much inspiration from her children by using fabric to fill cultural and racial representational gaps in their world and by extension, the world around them.

Bianca is primarily a garment sewer with a love of retro patterns from the ‘60s, ‘70s and today. She chooses simple and fun silhouettes that serve as a perfect foundation for the bold prints and colorful fabrics that make her heart sing. She loves experimenting with new techniques and constantly asks the question, “I wonder what will happen if?” and “Why sew boring?”. These questions have led to her making a dress covered in dozens of yards of bias tape, a full-length duster made of over 450 fabric yo-yos, embellishing a shower curtain into an elaborate skirt and repurposing old jeans into one-of-a kind garments.

Bianca loves sharing her passion for sewing with anyone who is willing to learn. She is invigorated by the joy of discovery and sense of accomplishment when a skill “clicks” with students young and old. Bianca will hem your pants, at a cost, but prefers to teach you how for a whole lot less.

Bianca has won numerous national and international sewing contests and competitions by taking risks. You can find Bianca in print as a contributor and designer in Sew News Magazine and Creative Machine Embroidery Magazine. She is a brand ambassador for Nature’s Fabric, Kraft-tex, and a blogger with Riley Blake Designs. She designs and sells laser-cut sewing pattern weights and vintage sewing patterns in her online store.

She can be found online: thanksimadethem.blogspot.com

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThanksImadeThem

Instgram:@thanksimadethem

and Email: [email protected]