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June 24, 2013 by: Melanie

11 Fabric Painting Tips and Tricks

Welcome to Fabric Painting Week! I’ve been working hard to share some fun projects with you for the week. Be sure to go to the announcement page to see the week’s official schedule. To begin fabric painting, there are a few concepts that I want to share with you. Fabric painting isn’t rocket science, but the more that you know in advance, the fewer mistakes you’ll make along the way.

11 Tips for Awesome Fabric Painting from it Happens in a Blink

Tips for Doing it Right the First Time

1.Fabric paint is FABRIC paint. It’s not meant to be removed. If I make a mistake, it’s now a permanent part of the shirt/pillow/whatever I’m painting. This not only applies to painting mistakes, but it also means to be aware of everything that I’m doing when fabric painting. If I have paint on my hand and I begin to paint a shirt, there’s a good chance that I’ll get the paint on my shirt from my hand. So be aware of wet fabric paint at all times.

2. Clean hands frequently in between paint colors. This goes back to Tip #1. Cleaning hands helps make sure the paint reside is gone.

3. Do a quick sketch of the design prior to painting. When I am fabric painting, I will draw a sketch on a piece of paper. If I like it, I then use a pencil to lightly sketch on my fabric, as well. As long as I am painting over it, a light pencil mark works well.

Tips on Preparation

4. Always have cardboard on hand to place underneath the fabric. The paint will more than likely bleed through- especially the darker the color.

Fabric Paint Cardboard from It Happens in a Blink

5. Lay out all materials beforehand- brushes, sponges, paint colors, stencils. Pre-organizing helps me stay focused.

Tips for Stenciling with Fabric Paint

6. Stencils can make fabric painting easier. To get the best look when stenciling, begin by applying the paint with a sponge to keep the paint from leaking out under the stencil.

Fabric Paint Sponge from It Happens in a Blink

7. After letting the first sponged coat dry, add a second coat with a brush for maximum coverage.

8. I own a die-cutting machine, so an awesome way to stencil is to cut out a shape with vinyl. The vinyl (removable kind) sticks to the fabric, doesn’t allow bleeding, and comes off easily.

Finishing Touches

9. Let paint dry for times listed on fabric paint bottle. Seriously.

10. Heat set the fabric paint to protect it in the washing machine. I’ve seen heat setting done one of two ways. a) Holding a hot iron over the painted section without touching the paint. This is especially effective for “Puffy” Paints (the three dimensional fabric paint). b) Turning the garment inside out and ironing over the fabric for five minutes or so. Wait at least 24 hours after painting to heat set. Last year I was able to try out a new iron that’s perfect for sewing and fabric projects. Check out the Hamilton Beach iron.

Fabric Paint Iron from It Happens in a Blink

11. Play around with embellishments. I’ve added embroidery, bows, jewels, cloth, etc. to my fabric paint projects. It’s fun to experiment!

Are you looking for a few fabric paint projects to try? Check out the following:

Fabric Paint Character Shirts from it Happens in a Blink

Skinny Tie Onesies from It Happens in a Blin

Bride to Be Shirt with It Happens in a Blink

10 Summer Shirt Painting Ideas

Conquering Carpet Enemies with the Eureka AirSpeed ONE Turbo Vacuum #AirSpeedONE #shop #cbias
Bride to Be Shirts with Tulip Fabric Paint

Comments

  1. Jeannie says

    June 24, 2013 at 10:02 pm

    great tips, and I really love that tie onsie! for what it’s worth

  2. Kirsten @ One Tough Mother says

    June 25, 2013 at 9:34 am

    Excellent tips! Especially about heat setting – I never knew to do that! Thanks a bunch!

  3. Joelen says

    June 26, 2013 at 9:21 am

    What fun! I’d love to do this with my son – he’d definitely enjoy this!

  4. Renae C. says

    June 26, 2013 at 9:24 am

    Great idea! Your shirts all look so cute. I like the tip about stenciling. That is probably the only way I would be able to make this work for me! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  5. sandy says

    June 26, 2013 at 9:43 am

    Great tips. I am sharing this with my sister who has two crafty little girls. I am lucky I can get my boys to wear clean clothes much less create their own..LOL

  6. Barbara says

    June 26, 2013 at 10:33 am

    Thanks, great tips!

  7. Sofia says

    June 26, 2013 at 12:08 pm

    Love the ties, great idea. I have always wanted to give fabric painting a try. Thanks for the tips ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. Nicole Copeland says

    June 26, 2013 at 9:59 pm

    I love the tie onsie super cute!

  9. Kristen D says

    June 26, 2013 at 10:51 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing these tips! I am absolutely addicted to making shirts with my boys ๐Ÿ™‚

  10. Kadie says

    June 27, 2013 at 2:50 pm

    Great tips! I’m going to have to try out making shirts again!

  11. Bethany says

    June 28, 2013 at 12:32 am

    Great tips! I almost ALWAYS forget to put a piece of cardboard in between the layers, it makes me so mad! Thanks for sharing ๐Ÿ™‚

  12. Goldfish says

    February 22, 2014 at 2:51 pm

    do you have to heat set it? or is it based on the brand of fabric paint

    • Melanie says

      February 22, 2014 at 9:00 pm

      If it’s something that will be worn and washed, I recommend heat setting it.

  13. Padma says

    June 8, 2014 at 8:54 pm

    Your tips were really helpful for my first fabric paining project. Thanks a lot.

    • Melanie says

      June 8, 2014 at 8:56 pm

      You are very welcome! Glad to hear that it was successful! Feel free to share it on my FB page so that we can see it! ๐Ÿ™‚

  14. SEENSALEEM says

    January 23, 2015 at 4:29 am

    THIS IS THE BEST TIPS FOR FABRIC PAINTING. NOW I FEEL A NEW CONFIDANCE ABOUT THIS

  15. Evelyn Burczyk says

    April 27, 2015 at 6:51 am

    Can I use fabric paint on felt?

    • Melanie says

      April 27, 2015 at 8:40 am

      Yes, you can use fabric paint on felt. Be aware that, because of the fibers on the felt surface, the paint may not look as smooth. Sometimes the paint brush or paint pen will pull up the felt fibers as you go along, and it can look a little less polished.

  16. Chaeri Lee says

    June 15, 2016 at 1:32 pm

    Hi! Could you recommend by any chance how much paint you would recommend to buy for a project with 150 shirts? Thank you !

    • Melanie says

      June 15, 2016 at 1:43 pm

      Hi, what are you painting on the shirts? Something smaller or something large? Is this for a VBS or children’s camp?

  17. Dory says

    July 25, 2016 at 4:01 pm

    I’d like to paint some golf flags that would remain outside. Nylon? Not cotton! Is there a brand of paint you recommend? Thank you

    • Melanie says

      July 26, 2016 at 3:41 pm

      Hi, Walmart sells an outdoor permanent fabric paint that would work on golf flags. I also use Rustoleum paint a lot, and they make a fabric spray paint, as well.

  18. Jessica says

    August 13, 2016 at 4:45 pm

    Can you recommend what type of paint to use when painting hair bows or paint on ribbon ?

    • Melanie says

      August 13, 2016 at 9:09 pm

      Hi! Are you using Grosgrain ribbon? The soft fabric paint or 3D fabric paint should work fine on Grosgrain. If you are using slick ribbon, I would try the soft fabric paint first, but I would test it to make sure that it is going to adhere well.

  19. Kristi says

    November 16, 2016 at 3:06 am

    I bought some of these paint second hand and they’re real hard I can’t squeeze them out of the bottle I was wondering if this is how it’s supposed to be and how to thin them or just throw them away

    • Melanie says

      November 19, 2016 at 10:14 pm

      No, they should not be hard to squeeze from the bottle. They should flow like regular paint. I’ve had some like these before and have just thrown them away. I have never tried to thin them.

  20. Caylynn says

    December 6, 2016 at 5:20 pm

    I’ve been trying to heat set a design I made on a cotton shirt using fabric paint. The design sat for a week before I went to heat set it so it had plenty of time to dry. Before I went to heat set it I noticed the paint was still sticky feeling even though it had been sitting a week.
    First I tried heat setting in the dryer on high for 30min. But when it was finished the paint was still sticky. I repeated the cycle and since then have also tried using an iron on high several times. After all of that my paint is still sticky! Why can I not heat set this!?

    • Melanie says

      December 6, 2016 at 10:03 pm

      Hmmm…I’m not sure. I know that heat setting is picky and can be affected by the humidity of where you live, the type of material that you painted, the type/brand of fabric paint, and even the age of the fabric paint. I would check the FAQ page of the brand of paint that you used, and if it does not answer your question, then I would contact them directly via their contact page.

  21. Teresa says

    February 22, 2017 at 7:30 pm

    Thanks for the great article!

    In regards to heat setting the fabric paint, do I need to wait for the paint to dry for the full 72 hours (as suggested on the paint bottle) before I do the heat setting with the iron?

    • Melanie says

      February 23, 2017 at 9:59 am

      Yes, I recommend waiting the full time before heat setting.

  22. Annie says

    March 15, 2017 at 2:13 pm

    Thanks for this post, great tips! ๐Ÿ™‚ I have questions though ๐Ÿ™‚ The paint that I have doesn’t say how long I have to wait before it dries ๐Ÿ™ how long do it usually take? Also, can you heat set with a hair dryer instead of an iron? I can’t turn my fabric inside out and I’m scared to burn it if I just hold an iron close to it lol Hope you can answer my questions. Thanks again for your tips ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Melanie says

      March 16, 2017 at 8:21 am

      I usually let mine dry for 24 hours. I have never tried to heat set with a hair dryer, although it would probably work for an item that is not going to be washed.

    • SB says

      April 1, 2017 at 9:01 pm

      You can still heat set it with an iron by placing a piece of paper or another piece of fabric over the design. This way the heat will transfer but without touching the design itself. ๐Ÿ™‚

  23. P Greenwood says

    June 28, 2017 at 10:55 am

    I have some Reeves craft dye and want to paint on cotton. How can I stop it bleeding? Want to do some lettering and cannot get a clean edge.

    • Melanie says

      June 28, 2017 at 10:00 pm

      I am not familiar with Reeves craft dye. Is it like the medium used for tie dye shirts? If so, I’m not sure how to keep it from bleeding. I typically only use fabric paint because it is easier to keep contained.

  24. Joy Butler says

    April 4, 2018 at 11:34 pm

    Uh oh, am in trouble! Hahaha I tried it in one of my favorite shirts and it got sticky. Maybe I was doing it wrong, I will just work on it again!

  25. Jamila says

    July 9, 2019 at 10:23 pm

    How well does your 3D paint hold up in the dryer? I didn’t know that I couldn’t heat set my painted jacket with an iron once I applied dimensional paint. I don’t know how long to wait before putting it in the dryer though, as the bottle has no information.

    Thanks!

    • Melanie says

      July 14, 2019 at 1:55 pm

      Hi, it has held up well so far. But most of the pieces I make are seasonal and are not worn/washed/dried a ton.

  26. mrsben says

    April 28, 2020 at 7:19 am

    Realize this is an old posting however if you place parchment paper over the design when heat setting (its the type you use when baking to line cookie sheets etc. ) perhaps it might be a solution.

    • Melanie says

      April 29, 2020 at 1:30 pm

      Great suggestion!

Trackbacks

  1. Tips and Tricks for Awesome Heat Transfer Vinyl Projects {and a Hamilton Beach Durathon Iron Giveaway} - It Happens in a Blink says:
    February 24, 2014 at 8:01 am

    […] lasts through my sewing projects, my heat transfer vinyl crafts, and I use it to heat set all my fabric paint projects. The Durathon Iron has the best non-stick surface and glide performance of any other iron that […]

   
   
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