Beginners Guide to Cyanotype: Beautiful Projects to Print with Light ID: 9761

Discover the beauty of cyanotype and turn fabric, note cards, paper and more into unique blue-and-white creations.

Explore a printing process where light, shadow and creativity come together. In Beginner’s Guide to Cyanotype, crafter, textile artist and illustrator Kim Tillyer introduces you to the possibilities of cyanotype, with detailed instructions and inspiring projects to help you get started.

Recognisable for its distinctive blue tones, cyanotype offers a way to capture shapes, patterns and delicate details on a variety of surfaces. The process uses a special light-sensitive solution that reacts to sunlight or UV light, producing beautiful prints that feel both timeless and contemporary. From striking silhouettes to intricate compositions, each creation offers an opportunity to experiment and develop your own style.

A creative process with so many possibilities

Whether you are discovering cyanotype for the first time or looking for a fresh direction for your crafting, this beginner-friendly guide will help you explore its potential. Kim’s instruction introduces you to working on paper and fabric, opening up possibilities for handmade cards, accessories, decorative pieces and thoughtful gifts.

Part of cyanotype’s appeal is the pleasure of experimentation. Your choice of surface, arrangement and exposure can all influence the finished print, giving each piece its own character. Enjoy the anticipation as your design develops, discover unexpected details and embrace the variations that make handmade work so special.

Accessible, affordable and rewarding, cyanotype is a way to bring a new dimension to your creative projects. Make a personal keepsake, add an individual touch to everyday objects or create a coordinated collection of blue-and-white designs.

Bring your prints to life with practical projects

The book features a varied collection of projects that demonstrate how cyanotype can be used for both decorative and practical makes:

• Atkins-style Greetings Card — create a distinctive handmade greeting.
• Travel Journal — give your adventures a beautifully personal home.
• Topiary Garden Pop-up Card — explore a playful, dimensional paper project.
• Trompe L’oeil Purse — combine printed imagery with a useful accessory.
• ‘Picnic in the Woods’ Cutlery Roll — bring a creative touch to outdoor dining.
• ‘Patchwork’ Tote Bag — take your cyanotype designs out and about.
• Fabric Night Lights — turn printed fabric into decorative lighting using a Needcraft Lantern Making Kit.
• Portraits and Pictures — explore cyanotype as a means of creating personal artwork.
• ‘Hag Stone’ Jewellery — discover possibilities for smaller, wearable creations.

Create something special for your home

We would love you to try the book’s Fabric Night Lights project with our Needcraft Lantern Making Kits. It is a lovely opportunity to transform your fabric prints into a finished piece for your home or a handmade gift.

You can also explore the book’s fabric-printing techniques to create your own designs for use with a Lampshade Making Kit, bringing your individual style to your lighting.

We are offering Beginner’s Guide to Cyanotype at cost price to Dannells customers to help you get creative!

Meet the author, Kim Tillyer

Born into an artistic family, Kim was encouraged to paint, draw and explore her creativity from an early age. In her late thirties, she studied Textiles and Surface Design at Cleveland College of Art and Design, graduating with first-class honours at the age of 40.

While developing artwork for her degree, Kim rediscovered cyanotype through an old pack of Sun Print paper that had been given to her children. That discovery marked the beginning of her blue-and-white adventures.

Based in a studio near Keswick in the UK’s Lake District, Kim creates and sells cyanotype prints on fabric and paper, alongside her work as an illustrator and workshop teacher. Her love of the process and experience across textiles and paper bring inspiration to this welcoming introduction to cyanotype.

Contents:

• Introduction
• What is cyanotype?
• Tools and materials
• Basic Technique
• Projects
• Toil and trouble...’ - when things go wrong
• Last word
• Templates
• Appendix
• Index
• Thanks

Project details
Atkins-style Greetings Card, Travel Journal, Topiary Garden Pop-up Card, Trompe L’oeil Purse, ‘Picnic in the Woods’ Cutlery Roll, ‘Patchwork’ Tote Bag, Fabric Night Lights using a Needcraft Lantern Making Kit, Portraits and Pictures, ‘Hag Stone’ Jewellery.

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