Acrylic Painting Techniques By Pattie Wilkinson

Fabric Craft

Acrylic Painting Techniques By Pattie Wilkinson

What Is Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours ?

Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours are designed to be used specifically on textiles and other fabrics such as felt, silk, cotton. Organic and natural fibers generally work best with Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours. Be sure to wash fabric before applying paint. Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours comes in a wide array of colours, making them appealing to all ages and all groups of textile painters. Textile medium does not need to be added to Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours, and may be thinned with water to apply on finer fabrics and for water colour techniques. Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours are usually applied with a soft brush, sponge or a roller. They may also be brushed onto stamps or blocks to transfer a design to the fabric. Thinned paint may be splattered from a toothbrush or streaked across a fabric for artistic designs. The techniques for fabric paintings are endless, and very exciting for anyone looking for a way to express themselves on clothing, fashion accessories and home décor.


 

Techniques

  • Stenciling Technique – Place stencil over fabric. Use pins, tape or temporary spray adhesive to hold in place. Apply fabric paint evenly with brush. Let dry, remove stencil.

  • Free-Hand Technique – Apply fabric paint with a brush with no guidelines. Free form designs, shading, graphic shapes, lettering, blocks of colour and patterns can be brushed onto the fabric.

  • Watercolour Technique – Thin Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours with water until it is very watery and apply in soft washes of colour with a brush. Water can also be added to the painted fabric to increase the watery effect.

  • Brushed Technique – Draw a design with chalk or erasable pen. Apply Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours with a paintbrush, blending and creating depth in the design with black and white for shadows and accents. Brush away chalk or erasable design after paint has dried.

  • Splatter Technique – Load a toothbrush or coarse brush with Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours. Splatter the Soft Acrylic Colours across the fabric, or flick fingers across the bristles to release the colour onto the surface of the fabric.

  • Sponge Technique – Pour Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours onto a paper plate. Dampen a natural sea sponge and wring out the excess water. Dab the sponge into the paints, then dab onto the fabric, blending the colours slightly.

  • Stamped Technique – Apply Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours on a woodblock stamp or rubber stamp with a sponge brush. Firmly press the stamp onto the fabric to transfer the paint on the design onto the fabric.

  • Overlay Technique – After painting a graphic design on fabric, let it dry completely. Paint a line design over the dry paint, such as lettering, accents, or a stamped design.

  • Fine Art Technique – Use Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours in the same way as you would use acrylic paints, watercolour paints, or oil paints to create fine art on textiles.

  • Resist Techniques – Use hot wax or a resist product to create a design on fabric. Brush Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours onto the fabric inside the design. Remove the wax or resist product according to the product instructions, to reveal the design.

  • Roller Technique - Broad strokes of paint may be achieved by applying a generous amount of Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours to a paint roller, and then rolling the colour onto the fabric.

  • Airbrush Technique – Thin Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours with water and fill paint receptacle in airbrush. Spray the Soft Acrylic Colours over a stencil or apply in a free-hand technique.

Tips

  • Before removing the cap, shake the bottle of Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours to mix thoroughly.

  • Test fabric for painting by dropping a small amount of water on it. If it beads up, it needs to be washed before painting.

  • When painting a t-shirt or any other fabric with 2 layers; place waxed paper or cardboard between the layers to prevent the paint from bleeding to the second layer.

  • Before painting a slick surface such as leather, use a fine grit sandpaper to roughen the surface and make it open to the paint.

  • To keep the fabric soft, apply less colour. More colour will cause the fabric to be heavy and thick.

  • To keep fabric taught while painting, place in an embroidery hoop, or apply contact paper on the back of the fabric while painting.

  • Take the time to iron fabric to get rid of the wrinkles before painting.

  • When stamping fabric, lay it on a soft cloth for padding.

  • Experiment with Fevicryl Soft Acrylic Colours and Fevicryl Acrylic Colours on other porous surfaces such as wood, baskets, sisal rugs, wicker, and even feathers!

Conclusion

Fabric painting is fun! Even if you have never painted on fabric before, or perhaps you are an expert textile artist, I hope that I have inspired you to try a new technique and to see how easy it is to create your very own unique art.