Fabric Painting

Preparing Your Image:

If you are using a stencil, pin it to the shirt (inside the boundary of the hoop if you use one). If you are using sponges or stamps, make sure you have your water, test paper, and a cloth for daubing off the excess nearby. For pictures that you plan to draw freehand, it is a good idea to blow it up (if it is small) so you have a better look at the amount of detail. A quick way to transfer a picture that you have already drawn (or a photograph) is to turn it over, and scrub the back of it with vine charcoal or soft lead pencil, covering the entire surface. Then, lay it scrubbed-side-down against the T-shirt, and trace outline of each shape firmly with a ball-point pen. This will press a faint outline of your picture onto the fabric. (For the record, this method of transferring a drawing also works for linoleum used in relief prints).

For your freehand sketch, make sure to press down firmly with the pencil. Make the sketch a bit bigger than you actually want it to be in the finished product, since even preshrunk shirts still shrink a bit after repeated washings.

Brushes

Consult the customer service reps at the fabric or craft store for brushes that are best to use with acrylic or fabric paints. You want soft and flexible bristles, made of either natural or synthetic fiber. Avoid the brushes with hard plastic bristles that come in children's painting kits. These are harsh, they don't spread paint color well across your surface, and they make scratchy lines.

Applying Paint to Your Shirt

Dip your brush generously, and tap the excess back into the palette. Press the brush firmly with each stroke. You will be able to tell if the paint is penetrating the surface of the fabric. You should still be able to see the texture of the fabric under the color. If not, you may have used too much. If you can still see the color of the T-shirt from under your paint, you may want to apply a second coat, making sure to press firmly so it will soak into the fabric more adequately. White paint on dark fabric will usually take a second coat. Some of the lighter shades of yellow will cause the same problem.

Stamping

Make sure you have a test piece of paper to see how your stamp will look when applied to the shirt. Stamp a few impressions on the paper, and check to see if the paint is globbing up on the stamp in any of those prints. If so, you will need to shake off the excess.

Design Shortcuts

You can make a simple stamp print on a T-shirt with everyday objects like sea shells, maple leaves, ivy leaves, a whole fish from the butcher department (you would roll one side of the fish in paint and simply press it against the shirt), a potato half with shapes carved into it, or half of an apple.

Heat-setting:

Fabrics treated with READY SET GLO'S Silk-Screen Fabric Gel-modified paints must be heat set if maximum launderability is necessary. . The polymer must first air dry to the touch to form the initial bond with the fabric, followed by one of the heat-set methods listed below:

Heat Press - according to press manufacturer's recommendations.

Ironing -Remove the board or hoop and then lay the shirt flat on your ironing board. Cover it with a paper towel or paper bag. Iron it on medium iron for 3-5 minutes with a medium-hot iron on the reverse side (side opposite of the application). On delicate fabrics where lower heat levels must be used, a longer ironing time will be necessary.

Professional Oven Cure - for 1-2 minutes at 3000F; 4 minutes at 2500F.

Clothes dryer - Commercial: medium-high temperature for 20-40 minutes. Household: high temperature for 40-50 minutes.

Washing and Drying

Let paint dry thoroughly (at least 4 days) before washing.

Hand-washing will dramatically increase garment life.

Always turn garment inside-out for laundering.

Avoid hot water washing. This will tend to soften and loosen acrylic paint from the garment.

Cold water works best for automatic washing of the painted garment.

Heat-set when appropriate.

Set washer to gentle cycle.

Drip-drying instead of using the clothes dryer will increase the life of the garment.

Summary

READY SET GLO'S Paints are all professional products. If properly prepared and cared for, will produce a fabric artwork with good durability. READY SET GLO's fabric mediums are produced with 100% Acrylic Polymer Emulsion. This produces a film with excellent flexibility, and chemical, water, and ultraviolet resistance. The milky emulsion dries transparent, allowing pigments to show their full color. READY SET GLO's Acrylics dry quickly and may be painted over immediately yet complete drying/curing will take longer. Avoid freezing. Minimum film formation temperature is 48oF/9oC.

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