There is something wonderfully refreshing about becoming a beginner again.

Recently, I attended a two-day workshop, Colour Play – Low-Tech Screen Printing with Temporary Resists, taught by textile artist Leah Higgins. As someone who spends much of my time teaching patchwork and quilting, it was a valuable reminder that learning a completely new technique can be both exciting and challenging.

The workshop explored Screen Printing with Procion MX Dyes, temporary resists and the fascinating process of breakdown printing. I left with a collection of unique fabrics, plenty of ideas for future quilts, and several important lessons—not all of them about screen printing!

Getting set up for the workshop

What Are Procion MX Dyes?

Procion MX dyes are cold-water reactive dyes that chemically bond with natural fibres such as cotton, linen and silk. Unlike fabric paints, which sit on the surface of the cloth, reactive dyes become part of the fibre itself.

The result is fabric that retains its soft handle while producing vibrant, permanent colour that won’t crack or become stiff.

To prepare the dyes for screen printing, they are mixed with a thickening agent (often sodium alginate) to create a smooth print paste that can be pushed through a screen using a squeegee.

Dyes and thickener

Learning to Mix Colour

One of our first tasks was mixing a series of colours and tonal values from just a handful of primary dyes.  I used Royal Blue and Golden Yellow to create an Olive green, and Magenta and Scarlet to create a really nice pinky-red.

It sounded straightforward.

Until every container on the table of the olive dye appeared to be exactly the same shade!  And the same with the three pots of red.

Careful labelling quickly became essential. It was a timely reminder that organisation is just as important as creativity when working with reactive dyes.

My First Mistake…

Our first exercise involved creating a colour family by scraping different dye mixtures across fabric.

Unfortunately, I misunderstood the order in which the dyes were meant to be applied.

The result wasn’t quite the beautifully graduated colour reference everyone else produced.

Although disappointing at the time, it reinforced an important lesson: with reactive dyes, sequencing can be just as important as colour choice.

Like many creative processes, mistakes often become some of the best teachers.

Colour family

Discovering Breakdown Printing

The highlight of the workshop was experimenting with breakdown printing.

Rather than printing with wet dye immediately, thickened dye was first applied directly to the screen. Temporary resists—including wooden lolly sticks and torn paper—were placed onto the surface while the dye dried.

Once dry, the resist material was removed, leaving a pattern of dried dye across the mesh.

Instead of adding fresh dye, clear print paste was pulled across the screen with a squeegee, gradually releasing the remaining dye onto fabric.

Each successive print became lighter and softer as less dye remained on the screen, creating beautifully layered images with subtle variations in colour and texture.

The process rewards patience and embraces unpredictability – qualities that many quilters will recognise!

Breakdown screen with resists comprising sticks of various sizes

Breakdown screen with torn paper resist

Breakdown screen with thickened dye as a resist

Happy Accidents Are Often the Best Designs

One unexpected feature appeared during a later printing session.

A circular blank area appeared in the middle of one fabric because the printing table contained a cable access hole.

Rather than viewing it as a mistake, I chose to keep it.

That simple circle became the focal point of the finished composition and perfectly illustrated one of the joys of surface design: sometimes the unexpected creates the most interesting result.

printing with the Thickened dye screen and the unexpected hole!

Waste Nothing

One of the things I enjoyed most about the workshop was that almost nothing was wasted.

Leftover dyes were scraped across unsuccessful prints, spare prepared fabrics became tonal backgrounds, and every remaining drop of colour was put to good use.

As quilters, we’re often reluctant to throw fabric away, so this approach felt entirely natural.

Every experiment became another opportunity to create a unique piece of cloth.

an unimposing print is layered again (and again) with thickened dyes

What the Workshop Taught Me as a Teacher

Perhaps the most valuable lesson had nothing to do with dyes or screen printing.

There were moments during the workshop when I genuinely struggled to keep up with the pace of information.

Experiencing that feeling reminded me exactly how many students feel when learning something unfamiliar.

It reinforced my own commitment to teaching in a variety of ways—combining demonstrations, written instructions, repetition and plenty of opportunities to practise.

People don’t all learn in the same way, and good teaching recognises that.

How I Plan to Use These Techniques in My Quilts

The workshop has opened up exciting possibilities for future quilt-making projects.

Using screen printing with Procion MX dyes allows me to create completely bespoke fabrics rather than relying solely on commercial prints. The layered textures produced through temporary resist printing and breakdown printing would make wonderful backgrounds for modern quilts, art quilts and mixed-media textile work.

Each piece of fabric tells its own story, and no two prints are ever quite the same.

That’s part of the magic.

Fabric using the stick resist screen – I can’t wait to use this in a project!

Final Thoughts

Stepping outside your comfort zone is rarely easy, but it is almost always worthwhile.

This workshop reminded me that learning is sometimes messy, mistakes are inevitable, and unexpected results often become the most memorable.

I came home with a stack of hand-printed fabrics, a notebook full of ideas and a renewed appreciation for what it feels like to be a beginner.

I suspect this won’t be my last adventure into screen printing.

Here’s my washed fabrics

Looking for more quilting inspiration? Browse the Green Man Quilts blog for modern quilting ideas, walking foot quilting tips, colour inspiration and creative techniques to help you make quilts with confidence – whatever the weather.

If you’ve enjoyed learning about screen printing and you’re keen to explore even more ways to add unique surfaces and texture to your fabrics, you might also enjoy my Textile Textures Playtime course.

It’s a relaxed, creative course filled with techniques for building colour, texture and pattern onto fabric through a series of step-by-step video lessons and downloadable guides. Whether you work in quilting, mixed media or textile art, you’ll discover plenty of ideas to experiment with at your own pace.

Find out more about Textile Textures Playtime here:

And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter.