Fabric Painting with NO Heat Setting!

Have you ever had that one friend, who is awesome? But then you have that one friend that is not only AWESOME but also super bloody TALENTED too? So this is Stephanie! Not only is she awesome but she is so bloody talented in EVERYTHING she does, it just makes me ..... Jealous? Maybe but more proud to say - HEY I KNOW THAT WOMAN! Sure I wish I had the ability to just have the talent, or even the talent to teach myself the way she does! I have different talents though - not many that are over and above hers because again she is pretty awesome! I was raised though to realize that everyone has different abilities and that doesn't make us greater or lesser than the next person - It makes us US, who we are! I love who I am - well some days lol Some days I don't and that is okay too.

The thing about Stephanie is that she shares her knowledge with those she knows. So one day when we were out at Ikea she shared this knowledge with me! She told me how that there is a product that can be added to acrylic paint (even chalk paint using a different ratio) and you can use it on fabric without heat setting it.

WHAT the actual F! Seriously! We went straight from Ikea to Curry's Art Store in Hamilton and she hooked me up. I will say, I was a bit skeptical BUT I tried it and it worked! I tested what I made the other day and I put so much confidence in her knowledge I put the rug in with a load of colors. YEP I was so scared it would run but guess what it DIDN'T!!!!! I was so happy! I want to share the knowledge Stephanie passed on to me, with you!

So here are the steps!

Step One

In your Design Software chose an image that you want to use and size it appropriately.

Step Two

You will now need to create a box around it for stenciling purposes. I chose a square and made it a bit bigger than the image so that I didn't get any paint on the bag itself. Attach the image and the square together. Cut a piece of permanent vinyl to your mat and send it to the cutter.

Step Three

Weed the inner pieces while leaving the negative space. We do this because we want to paint where the inner pieces were. Apply some transfer tape to your vinyl. I used a stickier transfer tape the first time and HATED LIFE - so this time I used paper transfer tape. It worked SO much better! I actually sighed a sigh of relief then shouted woohoo! Yes I know, my kids tell me I am a weirdo ALL.THE.TIME. lol

If you find when applying the transfer tape that it doesn't want to stick or peel the vinyl off the backing the way you want it to - be patient. Flip it over and burnish well from behind and then remove the backing slowly. When a piece sticks to the backing gently rub it and help it attach to the transfer tape.

When you get the placement of the image where you want it on the item you are painting, rub the image down so it sticks to the fabric piece. Then slowly peel the transfer tape off of the vinyl. I find that if you roll the tape back on itself it works great. Same as when removing the vinyl from its backing, if the transfer tape pulls up a piece from the fabric simply roll the tape back over the fabric and rub the piece you need to stick. Who knew the amount of patience you would need to craft BUT hey at least we keep the government funded by supporting the liquor store right? lol

Here is the image once the transfer tape is removed.

Step Four

This part is the HARDEST part of EVERY craft experience! Or one of the many but I find this often the hardest part because I would rather have someone just say use this color lol

Pick the paint color(s) you want to use. Right!?!? I told you it would be hard lol

As I said above you can acrylic paints and before you ask, YES, the stuff from The Dollar Stores is perfectly fine! Then the magic potion for this is - Acrylic Fabric Medium. I got Liquitex and it works great! It is a 1 to 1 ratio. So equal amounts of medium to paint. This rug I did only took 2 tsp of each but it was pretty big. You don't need a lot. This project only took 1/2 a tsp of each.

Step Five

Using a paintbrush, I tried a makeup sponge and I prefer the paintbrush but try different ways of applying it. Put paint on your brush and then take the excess off. Like I say with ALL stenciling - Don't use a lot! Build layers if you need to because it helps with the bleeding.

Step Six

The last step. You can do a wet peel or dry peel, totally up to you! I always do wet peels because I like living on the edge apparently lol The trick to a good wet peel - well the one I find works - is to peel up. With one hand hold the fabric down and with the other pull the vinyl up and away from the fabric. If you find it is getting too big to control, cut that portion off and continue. Once it is off - weed the inner pieces. I find having a weeding tool AND a pair of tweezers works the best. Then voila! Let it dry and you just painted on fabric and you DON'T need to heat set it! That is the best part for me since my heat press broke and I am saving for a new one. But don't worry it won't be the new Cricut one. lol

I hope you enjoy creating this and that you craft happy- or at least with minimal swears!

Tonya xoxo