FREE IDEAS FOR EASY CRAFTS AND ACTIVITIES WITH FAS PAINTS, INKS AND DYES
LEVEL: Primary to Artist.
There are two popular ways to paint fabrics. One is ready-made fabric printing ink, and the other is to use a medium with acrylic paint.
Textile fabric painting ink.
This is a paint or ink that can be heat-set to a fabric to make it permanent, completely washable and dry cleanable. FAS Fastex is made exclusively for fabric material and offers real, lasting quality once heat-set correctly. See our video on heat setting. Other brands may differ.
Paints with a Textile Medium added.
You can mix a textile medium with acrylic paint to make it suitable for fabric. This can work reasonably well, but it is still a paint that has been redirected with medium to be applied to fabric. This method often does not layer well, so when it dries, you can feel a rigid surface that will only get worse with more layers you paint. Often is not as durable as real fabric paints.
The Good from the Bad.
Once applied, a good fabric painting ink should not only look good with solid colours, but you should not be able to feel it on the fabric no matter how many layers you have printed. FAS Fastex Painting Ink layers well, and your artwork remains extremely durable when heat set correctly.
Application:
There are three main ways to use textile fabric ink. We are just looking at one today.
1. By brush
2. Simple stencil.
3. Screen print to a high definition.
The golden rule is to paint thinly. Two thin coats are better than one thick coat. Heat-set by ironing the fabric once it is completely dry
Mesh Screen Printing
Screen Printing with Fastex Textile Ink
Screen Printing gives strong, sharp and clean colours. It allows the artist to have complete control of the finished artwork.
1. Place the fabric under the screen. Making sure it is flat with no wrinkles.
2. Put a small amount of Fastex Textile Ink above the design inside the screen.
3. Use a squeegee to evenly drag the ink evenly across the design inside the screen.
4. Gently lift the screen off your fabric and allow the to dry.
Finished design in high definition. NB: note the TM
5. Once dry, iron the fabric at a good hot setting. See our video below.
TIPS:
- Less is more. Try not to paint too thick.
- You may need to clean between colours but more often than you can do a run of fabric prints this way.
- Make sure your artwork is completely dry before you iron.
Ideas for Art Blog
by FAS | Fine Art Supplies NZ LTD
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