The Block Printing Box

What you would make

One carved block, printed twice over: a short run of cards on paper, and a repeating pattern on a cotton tote bag that you heat-set so it survives washing.

Printing the same block on both surfaces in one session is the fastest way to understand why ink choice matters. The same block, the same pressure and two different inks give two completely different results, and seeing that happen an hour apart teaches more than any amount of reading.

What would be in the box

• Two soft-cut rubber blocks and one traditional grey lino block. The rubber cuts like firm cheese and is the right place to start; the lino holds finer detail and is there for the second design, once you know what you are doing with a gouge.
• A carving handle with three interchangeable blades — a fine V for outlines, a small U for detail and a large U for clearing the background.
• A bench hook. The safety item, and the one most beginner kits leave out. It braces the block against the edge of a table so you can push the tool away from yourself instead of gripping the block in the path of the blade.
• A rubber brayer and a smooth inking slab.
• Two inks: a water-based relief ink for paper, and a fabric block-printing ink that heat-sets with an iron.
• A cotton tote and a pack of smooth printing paper, plus a sheet of card to slide inside the tote so ink cannot strike through to the back.
• A printed guide covering design, transfer, carving, proofing, inking and heat-setting, with a page on carving safely that is not an afterthought.

What you would need that is not included

An iron for heat-setting, a hard flat surface, and newspaper or a cloth you do not mind ruining. Water-based inks wash off skin and most surfaces with soap and water, but not off a good tablecloth.

Read the guides now

• Carving your first lino block
• Printing inks: what works on paper and what works on cloth

Where it leads

Block printing scales up more cheaply than almost any other craft. The tools in this box are the tools you keep; the consumables are blocks, ink and whatever you are printing on. The obvious next steps are a two-colour reduction print, a repeating pattern registered properly across a length of fabric, or printing wrapping paper, which is the most satisfying use of a carved block there is.