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Joy St. Germain : Fabric Painting with Stencils

Fabric Painting with Stencils

By Joy St. Germain

Fabric painting is a fun and relaxing craft that even a beginner can learn. With the wide range of decorative stencils available you don't have to be an artist to create your own work of art on fabric. The fabrics that work well for fabric stenciling are cotton, canvas, and denim. All of these fabrics work well because they allow the paint to seep into the fabric.

There's a variety of different paints, crayons, markers and dyes that you can use to stencil on fabric. I think it's a good idea to try different paints just to see what works best for you. For the majority of my projects I like to use artist acrylics because they have a high amount of pigment and hold their colors. These fabric painting examples were painted with textile paints or artist acrylics.

How to stencil on fabric

Step 1

Pour a dime size amount of paint onto a paper plate. Dip the stencil brush into the paint then blot off the excess back onto the paper plate.

Step 2

Push the paint into the fabric and swirl the brush. Keep the stencil brush straight up right so the stencil paint doesn't seep under the stencil.

Step 3

Slowly remove the stencil being careful not to smudge the stencil.

Step 4

Fabric painting needs to be heat set to seal in the paint. Put a towel over the stencil and place an iron (med. temp) on the stencil for 60 seconds. •

More with Joy St. Germain

Joy St. Germain started The Wildwood Cottage out of her love for art, stenciling and crafts. She's a hands on "Do It Yourselfer" that enjoys creating new and unique crafts. ...

3/19/09