WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Printing with a natural stencil on canvas creates an original and fun pattern for a picnic set, as seen in this Veggie Picnic Set project from Christine Schmidt's book  Print Workshop.

Photography Douglas Adesko  Illustration Christine Schmidt

The gnarled shapes of kumara make ideal tools for relief printing a canvas rug and matching napkins. This inexpensive craft project adds a touch of homespun fun to a day in the great outdoors.

Wash the drop cloth in warm water; dry and iron it. Fold it in half and cut along the fold with pinking shears. Piece A will be the picnic blanket. From the other piece cut four 51cm squares with the pinking shears. Pieces B, C, D, and E will be used for the napkins; the remaining piece F will be test fabric. Lay the old blanket on a clean floor or table. Practice on your test piece first.

On a cutting board, use the kitchen knife to split the kumara in half lengthwise to create two oblong shapes. Hold the kumara steady, and use the lino cutting tool to carve the flat surfaces (pushing the tool away from you) like the midrib of a leaf. Carve the veins of the leaf in assorted patterns.

With an ice-block stick, dab two spoonfuls of printing ink onto the paint tray. Run the foam roller through the ink again and again until the foam is evenly saturated with ink.
Roll the ink firmly over the kumara halves and then press the kumara firmly onto the test fabric, with both hands if needed.

Repeat with all your carved kumara until you get a leaf-print design that covers the whole blanket, and then print the napkins.

Heat-set the ink according to the manufacturer’s instructions.