How to Make Fabric Paints

Painted Fabric

This fabric paint recipe is easy to make at home with inexpensive ingredients. In fact, it costs just pennies to make a batch. It is made with powdered milk, which is dehydrated milk. It comes in large boxes that are usually found in the baking aisle of your local grocery. The dry pigment used to make fabric paint can be found at your local craft store.
The paint that comes from mixing the two is very soft when dry, so it can be used on clothing and household items such as pillows.

Things You'll Need

• 1/4 cup powdered milk 1/4 cup dry pigment 4 tbsp water

Instructions

1. Put the powdered milk and pigment into a small bowl. You can try different measurements of milk and pigment to get lighter or darker colors. For example, if you put in more milk than pigment you will get a pastel shade. If you add more pigment than milk your will get a darker shade of paint.

2. Use a fork to mash out any clumps. You want the paint to be very smooth. If you can't get out all of the clumps, pour the mixture through a sieve to get out the clumps.

3. Add the water to the mixture and stir it well. If you need the paint to be a little more liquid, add a few drops more water and stir. If you need the mixture to be thicker, add equal parts powdered milk and pigment to the mixture and mix. The thicker the paint, the easier it will be to control on the fabric. Thinner paints are good for thin washes of color.

4. If you find that your paint is lumpy, run it through a food processor or use a whisk to work out the lumps.

5. Once the paint is to your liking, you can store it for several weeks in an airtight container. Make sure that you keep it in the refrigerator, though, or it will spoil just like any milk product.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to wash the fabric before applying your milk fabric paint. Use a warm iron to "set" the paint after it has dried. This will make the painting last longer and wear better. A run through a hot dryer will also work for items you can't iron.

• Do not use fabric softener on the fabric before painting it. Fabric softener will keep the paint from adhering properly.

Resources

• How to Make Your Own Fabric Paint