How to Lino Cut a St Andrew's Day Scottish Thistle Print

Download the PDF template here

Download and print the thistle design onto A4 photocopy paper in black and white. Once printed cut along the black line with scissors or a paper trimmer.

The design should be A5 to fit perfectly onto the piece of Lino.

To get even more versatility from your lino print, cover the lino in ink as normal – but then mask off areas of the design using scrap paper.

This will create a space within the design that can be filled with greetings or sentiments to make customised cards and prints!

Use clear letter stamps and an acrylic stamping block create to your message (remember to mirror the word as it will be flipped once printed).

Dip the stamp in the block printing ink then press firmly onto the card in the gap created with the scrap paper.

Matching the traditional theme, here are some Scottish sentiments to turn prints into greeting cards.

Happy St. Andrews Day – Scottish Holiday - Celebrated on 30th of November.

O' Flower of Scotland – Opening song lyric from 'Flower of Scotland” - Scottish National Anthem.

Slàinte Mhath – Scottish Gaelic for “Good Health”- Used often as slang for “Cheers” and celebratory toasts.

Carefully peel away the masking tape and remove the thistle design and tracedown paper.

Use a sharpie to enhance the lines made by the tracedown paper.

Now begin carving the design! Using a lino cutting tool with interchangeable blades, start with a narrow tip to cut around the outline of each black line.

Safety Note! It's important to keep the hand that's not cutting, behind the blade - this will steady the lino in place and ensure you don't accidentally cut into your hand.

Change to a wider blade and cut away the larger chunks each between each floral stem. Thanks to staining the lino – it's easy to see what parts have and haven't been removed. The aim is the remove all the blue and keep the black.

Finally, change to the smallest blade to cut away the detailed line work inside the leaves and petals.

Safety Note! It's important to keep the hand that's not cutting, behind the blade - this will steady the lino in place and ensure you don't accidentally cut into your hand.

Using block printing ink, select your chosen colours and mix with a palette knife onto a printing tray.

Using an ink roller, spread the ink across the tray until a smooth texture and even coating of colour across the roller is achieved.

Tip: Block printing ink is very thick and concentrated so this might take multiple passes to warm into a workable consistency.

The lino cutting is the most time-consuming part – but rewarding! It can now be used forever to make unlimited amounts of unique prints, cards, and artworks in any colour and on lots of surfaces like paper, card and fabric.

Tip: Fold and score a piece of A4 Card down the middle to make the perfect A5 sized card blank for prints.