Does anyone have experience of handpainting fabric. I am interested to receive recomendations/advise. Thanks?

Question

Is the paint permanent or does it require special washing.

What paint/manufacturer would you recommend or avoid

Any other info please

Answer 1

I actually have a lot of experience painting on t shirts and sweatshirts. I don't live in the States so I can't recommend brands to buy, but basically I use two kinds of paints. There's a thicker kind which you squeeze out of the bottle and it leaves a 3D effect and there's a liquid paint which you paint with a paint brush, and this soaks into the material a bit and stays flat on the material.

Both are good, both are permanent and can be washed inside out in a washing machine on low to medium temperature. I have t shirts, sweatshirts, pants, which I painted for my kids from over 10 years ago in perfect condition (one or two have faded just a bit). If you get a stain, you should not rub the paint cause that could ruin it, especially the 3D paint.

If you're using the liquid, you use it like you would water or acrylic paints, keep water handy to clean your brush in between colors. I also recommend you put a piece of cardboard inside the t shirt (if that's what you're painting on) so the paint doesn't get absorbed into the other side.

Hope that helps. If you want, you can e mail me if you have more specific questions.

Have fun!

Answer 2

There is no one best answer to this.

I have painted several fabric items in the past, from T shirts to silk costumes.  Whether or not the paint is permanent depends on the type of paint, how you apply it, and how it is set., as well as the fabric you paint on.  Different fabrics and effects require different paint and techniques.

Hand and air-brushing on silk needs different dyes and paints from doing so on cotton or artificial fibers.  Painting on wet and dry fabrics gives different results...  Opaque results need different paints from translucent results.

Think about what you want to do:

What is the purpose of your painting:

Are you decorating clothes, or makeing artworks?

Will this be 'wearable art'?

Will it need regular laundry/cleaning?

And:

What is the result you want?

What fabric will you be painting on?

How will you apply the design? Brush?  Stencil?  Airbrush? Fingers?  Dipping?  Or a combination?

There are many different types of paint and dye that are suitable for painting fabric, and what you choose use will depend on the answers to these questions.  Here are a couple of sites that will help you reach an answer:

http://www.dharmatrading.com/

(All you will ever need to find by way of paints, dyes, and equipment, for USA residents, plus masses of helpful information about the products and how to use them)

http://painting.about.com/od/fabricpaint...

(Some very basic hints for beginners.  A good place to start, but once you've done the basics, start experimenting with fabrics and paints)

The last item I painted was a silk costume that needed to be aged and distressed.  It was s semi-sheer silk Georgette fabric, (delicate but very strong!), and I used a combination of Setacolour (silk fabric paint) and acrylic paints thinned with water.  I mixed the colours myself and applied them with an air brush, by dripping, and with fingers (messy, but fun!).  Some areas had paint applied dry and some areas were dampened before being painted.  The fabric was washed and tea dyed before painting.  After painting the colours were set with a hot iron.  The customer thought it was fantastic, and I was quite pleased with it.

I make costumes for re-enactment and living history rather than for the stage, so things have to look genuine close up, but also be very durable and give many years service being worn as 'every day' clothing for historic re-enactment events.

Some UK fabric paint and dye sites:

http://www.clarkcraft.co.uk/index.php

http://www.fabricdyes.co.uk/

http://www.kemtex.co.uk/infosheets.htm

http://www.stonecreeksilk.co.uk/index.sh...