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Fabric Painting Tutorial
Published: 2014-01-15 00:51:05 +0000 UTC; Views: 52775; Favourites: 1433; Downloads: 170
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Description
Time for another visual tutorial! This time, covering the technique I use for painting fabric.
Cross-posted to my facebook page and my tumblr. If you've liked this tutorial, please follow me on Facebook for more! www.facebook.com/LadyCels
EDIT: A few questions that have popped up either on tumblr, facebook, or here and their answers
Will Acrylics work with this technique?
You definitely do not want to heat set painting (Fine Art) acrylics. They aren't made for fabric and will crack and flake off of fabric. Some brands of acrylics can also release harmful chemicals into the air. Always make sure you are using a paint that is formulated for fabrics. I like Jacquard because they are relatively inexpensive and can be mixed to create any shade. Make sure you pull up the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) on any paint before using it on fabric, to make sure that it is not listed as a possible skin irritant.
Are there other paints you would recommend?
Other than Jacquard, I've also used Floral Spray Paint, which is waterproof on fabrics (and thus washable). You can find my tutorial on how to paint fabric with floral spray paint here . Tempera paint can also be diluted and painted on as well, and works great for dyeing fabric and foam.
Is this paint temporary? Or can I wash it in a machine?
This technique is easily washable! This pic ( 24.media.tumblr.com/4a5a343bac… ) is the sample swatch from the tutorial that has been thrown in the wash on a regular color setting with Woolite Dark, then dried for 30 minutes. Essentially, the paint will weather the same way a commercial graphic tee would.
Does this technique work on all types of fabric?
This paint will work on most types of fabric. The swatch featured in the tutorial was a polyester blend, but this tutorial will also work on Cotton, Rayon, Linen, etc. and on both woven fabric and knitted. I wouldn't recommend this tutorial for Vinyl, Leather, or suede. Leather and Suede have special dyes/paints that can be used. This technique will also work on silk, but honestly I prefer silk dyes and resist for silks.
Where can I buy Jacquard paints?
While Michael's sometimes has them, they rarely have most of the colors. Personally, I go through Dharma Trading Co. for my fabric paints/dyes. You can find them here - www.dharmatrading.com/paints/j…
Artwork (c) Cori LS
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Do not use/distribute, edit, color, recolor, trace, post on photobucket/other image websites, or otherwise manipulate without my permission. All rights reserved
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Comments: 71
Acrylic paint worked just fine for me, just use glossy/shiny finish ones. It does not crack thanks to the felxibility of the varnish added to the paint. But it's only my experience.
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Acrylic paint though, has a few disadvantages. It doesn't hold up to repeated washes (As in the kind needed in theatrical showings) and most types of acrylic paint have harsh or toxic chemicals, especially in sealers or varnish that are not meant for fabric worn near skin. There are paints that do have acrylic properties that are specifically formulated for safe use on wearable clothes and these are overall a much safer option.
I personally believe in only using materials that are proven safe near human skin, and would advise that before any use, one looks up the specific Material Safety Data Sheet (www.msds.com) for each individual paint for possible irritants before use :3
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It worked for me just fine, but I will check this website, thank you ^^
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If I might add two cents to this: there are textile mediums (made by various art companies such as Folk Art and Americana) which you can mix with acrylics to render them safe and usable on fabrics. You simply mix the medium and the acrylic at a 2:1 ratio (or as otherwise directed) and then carry on as normal. This is probably most useful to the artist who usually paints with acrylics and only occasionally wishes to work on fabric, as it wouldn't require them to buy a variety of fabric paints which they would then only rarely use.
Also, I appreciate the brief list of fabrics that these paints work on. I've got a couple of silk scarves I recently dyed in a workshop and I've been searching for information on how to go about adding my own decorative elements. I wasn't sure if fabric paint would technically work on silk or if it was an all-around Bad Idea. If it's more a matter of material preference rather than a severe "don't do it, all will be ruined" warning, then I'll consider it safe enough.
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You're welcome! Glad it could help
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I couldn't have found this at a better time.. This will make the rosemaling design on my Anna cosplay so much easier as compared to trying to learn how to hand embroider and finish my full skirt design in a single months time.
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A few questions, hopefully I don't make you re-answer the same stuff, but does this paint harden? I want to paint a play mat for magic the gathering but I want to still be able to play on it (which means it needs to keep as much of it's texture as possible)
This answer is probably "no" but will the color fade quickly? I would use sharpie or markers on the project but I've found they tend to fade really fast, so I want something that will last a bit longer
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Nope! The finished paint has a sort of 'rubber-latex' feel to it and remains flexible on the fabric. It is also colorfast and survives washes. So, while I haven't tried it on play mat of sorts, it would definitely last longer than markers.
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Thanks so much! I decided to go with markers at least for now, to get my basic idea on the mat, but I'll be moving to Jacquard's paint markers after that (I'm terrible with a brush) Thanks so much for the information!
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Will this work on leather? I've got a leather jacket I've been wanting to paint a design on, but I'm worried about ruining it. Or is this only for decorative use?
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While the paint is made for all fabrics, natural and synthetic, I would advise against using this technique on leather. You're better off using leather dye or leather paint. Angelus Leather paint works decently on finished leather pieces, but it's a different technique. You don't heat set it.
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Do you know how to remove fungi on t-shirt paint? (black dots, sometimes smudges) Naturally/chemically way??
Anyway, very useful tutorial! 
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Hot water and Borax or hot water and vinegar mixed into a load of laundry can help remove mold. Or you can spot treat them by adding a little bit of hot water to either borax or vinegar (to make a paste) and scrubbing the affected area before washing it.
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I will try this. Thanks~
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This is a very helpful tutorial. 
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Howwould I paint with ink on fabric. It's more of what fabric I should use rather than how to do it honestly. Some bleed some don't.
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Ink? Are you referring to regular ink or screenprinting ink? I wouldn't recommend regular ink (like the stuff found in pens or sharpies) but screen printing ink is a whole 'nother ball game and not really the subject of this tutorial.
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Really nice tutorial! Would definitely like to do this some day.
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*plots to use this...* Thank you!! This will be convenient...
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You can paint with acrylic paint if you mix it 1:1 with textile medium. It's a colorless liquid you add to the paint and heat set the same as you see above. (or thirty minutes in the dryer, both work) I've used this technique on all of my painted shirts and they haven't flaked yet. Going strong for years!
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It more of the fact that you don't want acrylic painting mediums close to skin, even if it's on fabric. Textile medium is great when using fabric for an art installation, but so close to skin, it's not the safest. (Any Art major who's had to sit through Material Safety will have things to say about paint and skin). It's true, you can get acrylic paint to adhere and stay color-fast with things like a medium, but they can cause some major skin reactions. Personally, I only include things in my tutorial/promote paints that are safe and being used for their intended purpose.
There are some brands such as Delta- Ceramcoat which are made to interact between their "acrylic" paint and their textile medium, but again those are specifically formulated for use on fabric. You don't want to just grab just any acrylic paint off the shelf and use it for this technique. If you do your research, you should be fine.
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I guess it depends on what we both mean by acrylic paint. Are you talking about acrylic paint made with really harsh yet durable chemicals? The kind of acrylic paint I refer to is the Apple Barrel brand you can buy at Walmart.
The thing is that I have done my research. I did my research by painting a few shirts on my first try, heat setting them as the textile medium instructed, and they haven't shown signs of wear since. The only downside I've seen so far is that the paint is a little stiff.
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When I mention Acrylic paint, I refer to the type of paint formulated for use on canvas or fine art painting.
And by research, I mean pulling up the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) on a paint. Looking at Apple Barrel, it is listed as a possible skin irritant, so I personally would not use it (texasaquarium.chemtel.net/msds… .
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Sorry for the broken link, this one should work - texasaquarium.chemtel.net/msds…
You can also find a comprehensive list of MSDS information on other paints and compounds here - texasaquarium.chemtel.net/resu…
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I'll almost guarantee that I'll use this technique someday when making a cosplay, just not my current project. This is very informative and I thank you for this tutorial!
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omg this is amazing, thanks for the tutorial!!!
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I wanna thank you for this! I've been trying to find a technique that doesn't need textile paint or those overly-expensive printing irons.
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