Painting on Fabric

As promised in the last post, I have outlined the processes I use to paint and write on fabric. 

In the many examples you’ve seen with blue overalls painted on a black and white photo, I’ve used various products and processes.  Depending on the size of the project, the fabrics being used, the paints and markers at hand (perhaps in a specific color I need), and the mood I’m in, the process changes.  Also, as time goes on, I learn of new products and incorporate them into my repertoire.

For the photos on art quilts:  once the image is printed on the fabric, I leave the fabric adhered to the freezer paper to act as a stabilizer.  In the photo above, I’m using Neocolor II  water soluble crayons and a paintbrush.  I make a puddle of the crayon on a corner of parchment paper, then apply the paint with a small brush.  I use a very small amount of water if I want the color to “stay within the lines”.  

In the case of the oceans on the map in the photo above, I used the same watercolors, but used more water so the color flowed.  Note:  this is on a fairly rough linen fabric with a loose weave – it behaves oh so differently from quilting cottons. As always, testing first is very important.

In Walker’s Pasture, I don’t even recall what paint product I used, but I’m including it to show why I sometimes paint.  My original intent here was to appliqué the windmill’s framework – but the scale was so small that I looked for another way.  So I used the freezer paper template I had created to mark its outline, then inked it in with something…

An example of painting on an otherwise traditional quilt is in the Christmas Garden quilt above.  I wanted my initials and date on the front, and the phrase Mistletoe and Holly, to be relatively small.  A result of painting gave a transparency to the letters, letting the details of the background fabric show through.  You don’t get that with appliqué.

The selection of markers for the Christmas quilt was quite complex.  I went to a local art supply store and bought one of every type of “fabric-safe” marker available in red.  I came home and tested each, recording the results in my sketchbook; before and after washing.  I ended up using a Prismacolor marker.  You can zoom in on the photos above to see my notes about each.

Since that experience, I’ve learned about Fabrico markers by Tsukineko and now have them in multiple colors.  Their fine tip is great for outlining the shape…the thicker one fills in nicely.  

To transfer words to fabric, I sometimes just write freehand.  I did that on A Tree Grows in Gondor – using a mixture of Sharpies and Pigma Micron Pens.  I wanted different weights and thicknesses, hoping to convey the idea that different hands wrote the quotes.

Lettering in a large format is not my forte…so when I want larger words or numerals, I print them first on paper, then trace them to the fabric using my lightbox.  I outline the figures with a fine paintbrush or marker, then fill them with a larger brush or tip.  Above is a photo of the Christmas quilt on the lightbox.  

When filling in such a design, I use sandpaper, freezer paper, or a silicon baking sheet as stabilizer. Above, you see that I used the margins of the photo on fabric to test the colors I was contemplating.

Though it isn’t necessary with all markers and paints, I usually set the color using a dry iron and pressing cloths after the paint has dried.  For one thing, I can’t remember which products instruct me to do that and which ones don’t.  Safe is better than sorry.

Note:  I have not yet written about the Christmas quilt or the journal quilt (the one with the Gulf and Atlantic painted).  

Some of these markers are available locally, others from online vendors.  I don’t know where I bought some of them; it’s been so long since I’ve been shopping, things have changed…Google is your friend to locate sources for these.