Q&A for How to Do Fabric Painting

Check the directions to see if the paint needs to be diluted down. Typically, the consistency of the paint needs to be right in the middle for stenciling—not too thick and not too thin—so it sticks to the outline of the stencil and doesn't bleed underneath.

You can use fabric paint to creatively customize a sweatshirt. It's also great for stenciling on a T-shirt.

The acrylic paint will make your fabric thick and stiff and cause the t-shirt to lose elasticity. But, you can mix rubbing alcohol with acrylic paint to create fabric paint or you can also use white school glue and shaving gel mixed with acrylic paint to create fabric paint. Do not mix both methods together!

Iron it from the inside of the blouse. I do this to any garments that have been painted and it works great!

Any fabric store, Walmart, Amazon. You can also buy fabric medium and mix with acrylic paint for less cost.

Yes, but the colors may not be as vibrant as they would be on lighter fabrics.

Yes, as long as you used fabric paint and the paint is completely dry. You might want to turn the garment inside out, and dry it on a clothing line (as opposed inside a clothes dryer).

When using acrylic paint, mix it with a fabric paint medium. You also need to heat set your paint. The fabric medium addition to the acrylic paint will also let your fabric remain flexible, and it's nicer to wear. Your fabric paint may have been a lower quality, or it's possible that your heat setting wasn't long enough. Acrylic with fabric medium is usually less expensive than fabric paint, and looks nicer.

Yes, if your shade is fabric. Otherwise, use acrylic paint. Fabric paint works best on 100% cotton fabric, and has to be heat set. Turn your article and cover it with a cloth, use a dry iron, no steam. Iron over your picture using circular movements for 30 seconds. Don't heat set it in the dryer, as you can't control the temperature.

Acrylic fabric paint drying time is pretty fast, depending on how much paint is being used. It has to be heat pressed for better stability of the color after 24 hrs of painting, though.

Yes, but it might wash off, as poster paint can be "revived". Use acrylics for a better result.

Yes, and wash with a washer and dryer and not by hand, because you may rub the paint off while doing doing so. When you wash with other clothes in a washer, it won't rub too hard on the paint.

It depends on the exact paint used. Your paint should have instructions on it for mixing it with water; those instructions should include the proper ratios.

Pebeo and Marabou made specific silk paints for heat setting with a domestic iron.

Use paper or tape to cover the other parts of the clothing, similar to a stencil.

The easiest way is to copy your design from paper onto the fabric with white paint.

Definitely! I would recommend putting Mod Podge over it though, just in case the backpack gets wet.

Acrylic paints are permanent once dry; hence the need for wearing old clothes or an apron while painting. After painting, some fabrics should be washed by hand, though, while others may be machine-washed.

Try adding multiple layers. Usually, with particular paint products and materials you’re working with, it takes more than one coat of paint to make the colour vibrant. You could also try adding a white base layer to highlight the colours you paint on top (make sure you let the base coat dry fully).

Paint cracking on fabric tends to occur for two reason. Either the paint itself isn't a good quality or heat treatment to set it was not done or not done correctly. Even textured or thick paint should still be flexible enough not to crack. Look up the paint manufacturer’s suggestions for heat treating. It should tell you how best to do it, the temperature your iron should be at, and for how long you need to iron it to set/strengthen your paint.

It depends on the color of your fabric and the opacity of your paint. If you layer the paint enough, it should look like one solid color, and the color of your fabric shouldn't show through.

Make sure that you are following the instructions in the kit and that you have applied enough layers. If you use a paint other than fabric paint (such as acrylic), it is more likely to wash off.

You likely did not get the paint thick enough, try again. But that's ok, it was likely your first time.

This might have been caused by one of the following reasons: You added too much fabric medium. Maybe you added water. You didn’t stretch the cloth before painting. And maybe you didn’t add anything underneath it or you did not iron it. Find which cause it was and avoid that next time.