Fabric Painting Instructions
Whether stenciling or free-hand painting fabric, you can change the look of shirts, fabric purses, jeans, curtains, potholders and other fabric items. Painting fabric is similar to painting paper. However, since fabric bunches up easily, it requires a little extra care when painting. Once you familiarize yourself with fabric painting preparation and techniques, you may find yourself firmly addicted and looking for fabric items all around your house to paint.
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Things You'll Need
- Fabric
- Cardboard box
- Thumbtacks
- Acrylic fabric paint
- Dimensional acrylic fabric paint
- Small, disposable cup
- Flat-blunt artist's paint brush
- Thin-tapered artist's paint brush
- Soap and water
Instructions
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Place the fabric on top of a flattened cardboard box. If painting a T-shirt or other multi-layered material, place cardboard under the top fabric layer. Stretch the fabric taut, and use thumbtacks to pin the fabric down.
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Squeeze approximately 1 tbsp. of fabric paint into a small, disposable cup. Use a flat-blunt artist's brush and the paint from the cup to paint or stencil large areas, such as petals on a flower. Use a thin-tapered artist's brush to paint small areas or details, such as dots or flower stems.
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3
Paint in short, light strokes. Pressing too firmly on the brush will wrinkle the fabric and distort your design.
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4
Squeeze dimensional fabric paint directly from the bottle to create raised designs. Use the paint bottle's nozzle in the same manner as frosting tubes to write words or outline painted areas. Squeeze air bubbles out before painting the fabric.
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Rinse paint brushes in soap and water. Let the painted fabric dry on the cardboard overnight. Wait several days before washing or wearing the painted fabric.
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Tips & Warnings
Since fabric paint is permanent, try practicing paint strokes on scrap fabrics before moving onto clothing or household items.
Resources
- Photo Credit a row of used paint brushes image by Gleb Semenjuk from Fotolia.com
