Cyanotype Tutorial: Printing with Leaves and Flowers

Learn how to create cyanotype prints without using digital or manual photolithographs with Fábrica de Texturas

Cyanotype is a monochromatic artisan technique for printing negatives; it requires a surface treated with a series of chemicals and an object to be placed on top of it (the object can be a photographic negative or anything else that covers the light). When the sun shines on it, the surface darkens, while the covered areas do not, thus leaving a mark with the shape of the object.

This is a simple technique that requires few materials. If done properly, it will allow us to create original prints on pieces of paper, cardboard, fabric, and more. In the following video tutorial, Gabriela Rodríguez, from the DIY design workshop Fabrica de Texturas (@fabricadetexturas), teaches us how to get started in cyanotype using some simple elements such as leaves and flowers. Discover it below:

Choose what you will use for printing

In Gabriela's case, she has decided to choose dried plant: both leaves and flowers. You just have to pick them, place them between two sheets of newspaper or blotting paper, and leave them for a while under a weight to press them well.

You can get pick these plants yourself or buy them in various stores.

Prepare the base for printing

You will need a piece of cloth soaked in cyanotype liquids, which you will then have to let dry in the air until there is no moisture left. Put a piece of foam and a piece of fine wood under the fabric for pressing.

Place your plants on the base

What is the best way to organize the plants on the canvas? Gabriela recommends starting by marking the center with a slightly inclined plant, and working from there, making sure that the branches are not straight and trying to play with different placement directions. She also suggests placing plants on the edges of the fabric to give the feeling that the pattern continues beyond its limits.

Press the base

Once you have your plants in place, put a piece of glass over them and attach it to the wood at the bottom of the canvas. Now, you just have to leave the fabric in the sun for a while, until it is dyed by the sun.

Remember that you can repeat the process with the same plants or other photolithographs numerous times, to create other printed fabrics.

Soak the exposed fabric

Once the fabric is pressed, remove it from the glass and remove the plants. Now, you must immerse it in a bucket of water so that the printed parts lose their greenish tone, and and carry on until the yellow tones go away too.

Add a little oxygenated water to the water so that the intense blue of the fabric gets stronger. Don't be afraid to wrinkle and stretch the fabric, and give it at least a couple of baths so you get the tone you want. Let the fabric dry and finally, if you feel like it, you can iron it.

If you liked this tutorial, you can learn more from Fábrica de Texturas about how to use light to print all kinds of images on their online course Cyanotype: Printing with Light.

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- Cyanotype: Simple Materials to Print Images with Light
- History of the Photobook
- What Is Fine Art Printing?