Fabric painting is the art of creating different designs and patterns on the clothes and garments. Fabric painting allows you to create a whole new look. You can completely change the look of any of your old household items or your wardrobe without the need of replacing them or getting a new one. All you need is some fabric paints and a little artistic and aesthetic sense, and you can give a whole new look and personality to anything. Apart from this, you can craft and make some new things if you want.

Types and Kinds:

Based on your desire, fabric painting can be taken up as a hobby or as a form of livelihood. It is perhaps the form of arts and crafts that allows for most creativity, especially where the wear is concerned. Fabric paints are available in a wide range of brilliant and attractive colors for different styles of fabric paintings such as Batik, dying, layering, etc. In contrast to the common belief, it is not very difficult to learn. You can start painting in a day’s time and the paints are safe enough for even children to use who love to paint and mess around with clothes.

Choosing the Fabric:

In fabric painting, it is important to choose the type of fabric that you’ll be working with. Usually silk, linen and cotton are used for the fabric painting. Choosing the type of fabric is important as different materials have different effects on the paint and the texture. A plain white piece of cloth may dull the color of the paint whereas a colored or textured one will produce varying shades and colors to the paint. Cotton may hold any form of fabric paint, where as silk and linen need special paints. It is generally wise to have a small sample piece of the same material with you and test out the effect of the paint on it before you start applying.

The Paints:

There are different forms of fabric paints available for creating different looks and textures to your design. Some are thinner and are much more like water colors and allow you to spread them out easily on the fabric. Others are thicker and hold their place on the fabric. This allows you to create outlines, raised lines and different designs on the garment. Besides this, there are different tools and techniques available to help you create a work of art.

Got some ideas for your handprint crafts? You can check out our old post on how to design your handprint crafts.