Fabric Paint

Using Fabric Paints

Fabric paint is essentially a pigment (color) and a glue-like binder that adheres the pigment to the fabric. Fixing the color with a hot iron is often necessary to seal in the color and make it wear better.

Using fabric paint is convenient when you want to personalize a piece of clothing. It's fun, easy to use, and great for projects with kids.

The first thing you need when working with fabric paint is a surface that will accept the paint. Items with built in stain or wrinkle resistance will not accept paint, but you can find many different kinds of wearable art products to use with your fabric paint:

• T-shirts
• Shoes
• Tote bags
• Sweatshirts
• Visors or hats
• Aprons

You can buy these at your local crafts, discount, or clothing store. It is important to wash and dry your fabric. Press out any wrinkles with an iron before you get started so you have a nice, clean, flat surface to apply your fabric paint to.

After painting, most fabric paint projects should be dried for 24 hours and then set with an iron on medium heat (no steam) placed directly over the paint (with a pressing cloth on top of the item) for 30 seconds. Fabrics can also be machine dried for about 20 minutes to set the paint.

Decorating with Fabric Paint

There are several different kinds of fabric paint that can be used with good result on fabrics. There are paints that make a solid, matte color finish, a neon glowy finish, metallics, glow-in-the-dark paints, pearlescents, even puff paints.

Which fabric paint or paints you choose depends on the project you are working on and what you like. Puff paint is fun for kids projects, while glow-in-the-dark paint is perfect for embellishing your Halloween costume. Plain fabric paints are nice, too.

When it comes to applying your fabric paint to the project, there are a couple of methods to consider. You can freehand draw a design, which is what you'll probably want to do if you work with fabric paints with kids.

You can also use stencils to guide you. This is the best option if you are making a bunch of items that you want to look similar, for example a bunch of T-shirts for a scout troop or class. Having a stencil will make your work a lot faster as well.

The fabric paint companies sell stencils that are designed to work with fabric paints. You can buy and use stencils from the paper crafts or painting section of the craft store as well. These might have some small holes that you can't really fill in with your fabric paint pen or applicator, but you can use the stencil as a general outline.

You can also make your own stencils. Probably the best way to make a stencil is to draw your design on clear shelf paper, then cut out the designs. Peel the backing off and stick the stencil to the item you want to paint. You should be able to peel and restick many times, or you could just take the backing paper off in a strip at the top and bottom of your design if you're worried about the peeling warping your design.

If you don't have any shelf paper lying around, use regular paper, newsprint, or a brown paper bag. Draw your design and cut it out in the same way. You could always tape that down as well if you want extra security.

Caring for Fabric Painted Items

As mentioned above, most fabric paints require a drying out period and then a set with either an iron or the electric dryer. Check the bottle of paint you use for specific instructions.

To keep your painted item looking nice, it's a good idea not to wash it in hot water and not to run it in the dryer. This is especially true of the puffy fabric paints because they can continue to puff from the heat of the dryer and get really funny looking. Other than that, you should be able to wear and care for your painted items just as you would any other clothing.

Sources for Fabric Paint

• Fabric Paint.com
• Delta Crafts
• Blick
• Tulip Paints.