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<\/a>\nToilet paper rolls, noodles, tape, paint….whatever you have, grab it!\u00a0 And let’s start making.
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<\/a>\nSoon you’ll have a wall full of new textile options.
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<\/a>\nFirst some notes on Fabric and Paint: <\/b>
\nNow it would be awesome to have a real screen printing kit to make professional looking stuff. Some day I’ll tackle it. But for now I’m still doing it poor man’s style with simple paint, freezer paper, tape, etc.\u00a0 In a way though, it feels easier.\u00a0 If you’ve never worked with fabric paint or freezer paper, read my tutorial HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n
If you don’t have fabric paint you can use Acrylic paint,<\/b> which is very inexpensive and comes in every color imaginable (metallics too).\u00a0 When using acrylic paint on fabric, however, it’s good to mix in a Fabric Medium such as this<\/a> to make the paint a bit softer for wash and wear.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course if you’re antsy like me you can just paint a shirt<\/a> without it, and your daughter will still love it.<\/p>\n Follow the directions on the back of the Medium bottle but typically you mix 2 parts paint to 1 part medium.\u00a0 And I’ve found that old baby food containers are great for small paint projects! Some of these projects will work for an entire piece of fabric, <\/b>something you can cut up and make into a pair of shorts, a bag, or even a jacket.\u00a0 But some work better on a small piece of fabric to use as a pocket or applique.<\/p>\n Oh….and a blowdryer is wonderful for drying the paint<\/strong> so you can quickly peel away and admire the new look.<\/p>\n Okay, ready for 13 ideas? Last I tried it with acrylic paint and it was okay.\u00a0 I didn’t have a small enough brush to make thin lines.\u00a0 But on a large scale print it would look cool. ——————————————————————–<\/p>\n This is part of Celebrate the BOY<\/a>, a series hosted by me and Made by Rae<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n Here’s what we’ve done so far:<\/b> \u2022 Keep adding your own BOY projects to the CTB Flickr Group<\/a>! Sometimes it’s hard to find that perfect boyish fabric you’re looking for.\u00a0 Maybe you can’t find it because you’re not even sure what you’re looking for.\u00a0 Or maybe you wish the boy’s section had as many options as the girl’s?\u00a0 Maybe it can. Last CTB, I shared a post about Selecting Fabrics for BOYS.\u00a0 And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[301],"tags":[294],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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\nAlso, keep in mind that paint and markers react differently to all types of fabric.\u00a0<\/b> Lightweight fabrics will seep up paint quickly, while tightly woven fabrics like canvas keep the paint right on the surface\u00a0 So just experiment with whatever woven and knit scraps you have around till you find what you like.<\/p>\n
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\nThere are many ways to make stamps but with items from around the house, here’s one idea:
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\nCut a shape from craft foam.\u00a0 If the foam is pretty thin, cut a few layers of the shape and glue them together.\u00a0 Then glue the Glue Stick lid to your foam shape and you have a stamp!
\nYou can take the lid off when you’re done if you still need it.\u00a0 Plus
\nthe lid works great for pressing firm on the fabric with your stamp.\u00a0 When it comes to painting, I’ve found that brushing the stamp with paint each times works better than dipping.
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\nWhen you’re done stamping always follow the directions on the back of your paint bottle to Heat Set the paint.\u00a0 This “seals” the paint on your fabric so it doesn’t fade or wash away.\u00a0 Use a dishcloth to cover your fabric and iron for a minute or two.
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\nPretty self-explanatory but for some reason it never dawned on me till the other day!\u00a0 Grab whatever circle objects you have around the house and use them to stamp!
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\nMake the circles uniform and systematic….or be crazy and unruly.
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\nI wanted this to work better than it did.\u00a0 It does work and I like the final result but it just takes some time to dip, drag, drag back the other direction, dip again, etc.\u00a0 So be patient.
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\nFluorescent Pink?!\u00a0 Yes (but not for Owen).\u00a0 I love wide stripes and I’ve painted them before on woven fabric here<\/a>:
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\nSo this time around I wanted to try it on white knit fabric.\u00a0 Could I really paint an entire t-shirt worth of fabric?\u00a0 Sort of.\u00a0 I used 3 inch-wide painters tape to create stripes, pressed paint on the edges first then filled in the spaces.\u00a0 But it was hard to keep the knit from stretching as I painted.\u00a0 So it got a bit wavy and wonky.
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\nNonetheless I pressed forward, washed the fabric, then sewed a Basic Tee<\/a>.\u00a0 And…it kind of worked.\u00a0 Well.\u00a0 It’s a Work in Progress.\u00a0 It’s still kind of wavy but I’m sure he’ll wear it.
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\nI think a better option for creating knit stripes is this:
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\nFollow my detailed Goodnight Moon tutorial HERE<\/a>.
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\nThe brother to Stripes above, this would be great on a shirt pocket….or side pockets on pants.\u00a0 Simply tape stripes on the diagonal, paint, dry, and peel.\u00a0 Leave it as-is or tape stripes on the other diagonal to make gingham checks.
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\nThis is my favorite way to decorate T-shirts.\u00a0 It allows you to make a really specific image stencil for painting.\u00a0 The true poor-man’s silk screening.\u00a0 If you’ve never used it, check out my tutorials here<\/a> and here<\/a>.
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\nTape a large piece of Freezer Paper to a cutting mat, draw an 8×8 inch square (or any size you want), then draw 2×2 inch squares in the middle.\u00a0 You could be really precise and only cut out every other square with your cutting knife. But it’s easier to cut out the entire square first, cut out four lines, then use scissors to cut out 8 squares from those pieces.\u00a0 Iron the outer square to your fabric first, then iron every other square to the fabric.\u00a0 Paint, dry, and peel!
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\nThere are so many items around the house that will make interesting designs.\u00a0 Try a sponge, feathers, coins? noodles, string, yarn, etc.\u00a0 Here’s what it looks like when you crumple foil and dip it in paint:
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\nSometimes when painting on darker fabrics, it can take a few layers of paint to get it really even looking.\u00a0 So you might go the other direction instead. If you add equal amounts of water to the paint to thin it out, you can paint a nice thin layer over your stencil.\u00a0 The paint it not as vibrant but that’s sort of cool too.
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\nTry the inverse of painting, by bleaching.\u00a0 Check out my tutorial HERE<\/a> or use a bleach pen to create designs.
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\nFaux Bois (pronounced “foe bwah” and meaning “fake wood” in french) is so fun.\u00a0 And it’s not hard to do!\u00a0 You draw long lines with slight curves here and there and some knots mixed in.\u00a0 No hard rules.\u00a0 I tried it three different ways….
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\nFirst I used a Paint Pen (middle photo above)which looked great but the pen was not so great.\u00a0 It kept drying it up and barely lasted for the whole piece of fabric.\u00a0 Next I tried a brown Sharpie (right photo above) and liked that best!\u00a0 It was easy to do and the thin lines were nice.<\/p>\n
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\nLastly….why not give your child some markers and let them give it a go?
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\nOwen is a Star Wars fanatic.\u00a0 Lover?\u00a0 Obsessor?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 So we tried out these Crayola Fabric markers.\u00a0 I taped white knit fabric to cardboard and he did his best C3PO and R2D2.\u00a0 I had to help him hold the fabric taut as he drew.\u00a0 But…(*Update*) some of you mentioned to iron freezer paper on the back of the knit fabric to stabilize it while drawing on the front side. Brilliant!\u00a0 Totally doing that next time.
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\nAnd just like that you’ve got a pile of new textiles to use or inspire your new BOY projects (and girl ones too!)
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\nI asked Owen to pick out his favorite and he immediately went for the wood, all 4 of them.
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\nGood choice.\u00a0 And I pick the stars.
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\nOkay.\u00a0 Off to sew.\u00a0 Have a great day!
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\nDAY 1: Dana: 5 Steps to the Basic Tee<\/a> \u2022 Rae: Saffron Pants<\/a> and Color Roundup<\/a>
\nDAY 2: Dana: Pants Roundup<\/a> \u2022 Rae: Little Bit of Color Hoodie<\/a>
\nDAY 3: Dana: KID Pants with Back Pockets<\/a> \u2022 Rae: Little Bit of Color Hoodie<\/a>
\nDAY 4: Dana: 13 DIY Fabrics<\/a> \u2022 Rae: Show your Stripes Turtleneck<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\u2022 And check out the Archives<\/a> for additional projects<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"