Monday, April 18, 2016

fabric painting the modern way (Beyond Cotton)

One of my very favorite techniques in Beyond Cotton is fabric painting.  It's so easy and a perfect way to get into personalizing your fabric.


The three projects in the book that use this technique are the Watercolor Baby Bibs, Whole Cloth Painted Baby Quilt, and Freckles Tote Bag:

photo by Holly DeGroot
photo by Holly DeGroot 
photo by Holly Degroot 

All three of the projects use base fabrics that are neutral and soft, which are then painted with a super cool liquid dye by Jacquard called Dye-Na-Flow. The great thing about Dye-Na-Flow is that it soaks into the fibers of your fabric and doesn't change the feel of it-- which makes it perfect for baby items.


You can easily find the larger bottles of Dye-Na-Flow at your local art store, Dick Blick, and Dharma Trading. Smaller bottles are sometimes found more readily in something called "exciter packs" at JoAnn Fabrics, Amazon, and Michaels stores.


These are really good for smaller projects and for color mixing.

Once you learn the technique, it's so easy to use it on other projects!

I used the Whole Cloth Painted Baby Quilt technique on fabric for a Geranium Easter dress for Charlotte:


I've dyed panels of white linen blend Essex to make different versions of the Leather Bottom Zipper Pouch that's also a project in Beyond Cotton:


And I've played around with painting designs and using a Sharpie Rub-a-Dub laundry marker to do accent marks:


Sandi of the Crafty Planner used this technique to play around too. You can read her review of the book and more about her project here

photo by Sandi Sawa Hazlewood

Have you tried this technique yet? If you're a beginner or just nervous about dyeing or printing fabric,  I bet you'll be hooked once you learn how easy, inexpensive, and fun it is. Give it a try! And don't forget to post and tag your photos on Instagram with #beyondcotton and #beyondcottonchallenge this month to get some great prizes! 

6 comments:

Rachel at Stitched in Color said...

Those are some beautiful projects! I love the dress. It's good to hear the paint doesn't change the texture of the fabrics. That has been something that's turned me off from this kind of experimenting.

By the way, I had to bypass Bloglovin to comment on your blog. Bloglovin has changed something about the way it is displaying blogs to me, at least. That might be why there are not more comments here =)

Live a Colorful Life said...

This looks like such a fun technique. And I think it will be the perfect project to do with my two older grandchildren this summer.

terrieannie said...

Anxiously waiting for my copy to arrive!!

Jack said...

I used to be such an artist when i was little but I lost my way growing up.. But this post is so wonderful , it really reminded me of the good times. thanks for posting!

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