Acrylic fabric paints, iron-on appliques and other embellishments are a fun
and easy way to transform ordinary t-shirts, sweatshirts, denim jackets and
jeans into special, one-of-a-kind clothing designs.
Even if you don’t feel especially artistic, it’s extremely easy to add
striking hand painted designs to basic wardrobe items by applying acrylic
fabric paint through a stencil with a foam pouncer.
Embellishing clothing with fabric paints is also a wonderful project to do
with kids. Both my fashionista niece and her younger brother used to love
taking solid color T-shirts and creating their own hand painted and stenciled
designer tees, which they wore with pride.
Some fabric paints also work well on other materials, including leather and
vinyl, so they’re great for painting shoes, sandals, handbags, belts and other
accessories to give them a whole new look with fresh colors, color blocking,
patterns or painted accents.
I have researched and used different types, brands and formulas of fabric
paints in different price ranges. In this review I will share my favorite
acrylic fabric paints for decorating clothing and accessories.
Why Use Acrylic Fabric Paints?
Acrylic fabric paints, also called acrylic textile paints, are formulated
specifically for use on fabric clothing and other textiles. Unlike fabric dyes
and alcohol-based textile paints or inks, they do not spread and saturate the
fibers. Most work best on untreated or pre-washed, natural fabrics and
synthetic fabrics whose fiber content contains at least 50% natural
fibers.
Acrylic textile paints are usually thinner, penetrate fibers better and dry
more flexible than standard acrylic paints formulated for art or craft uses.
Fabric paints also contain a binder that helps them adhere much better to
natural fibers after the paint dries and is heat-set (usually with an iron).
This binder makes the painted designs more durable, so they can better
withstand repeated washing and resist cracking, peeling or flaking when the
fabric is gently stretched or folded, such as when you put on, move around in,
take off or put away your painted clothing.
More transparent colors usually have a thinner consistency and are softer to
the touch when dry compared to more opaque fabric paints. They are great for
lighter color fabrics, since the color of the clothing will show through them.
For the same reason, opaque fabric paints will show up much better on darker
clothing, although they are slightly thicker and will dry a bit stiffer than
more transparent formulas.
Good Quality Fabric Paints Give the Best Results
Jacquard makes moderately priced, high-quality, highly pigmented paints, dyes,
mica powders and other art and craft supplies. Jacquard's Textile, Neopaque
and Lumiere lines are my go-to acrylic paints for painting fabrics.
Jacquard Textile
Jacquard Textile paints have a medium- to light-bodied consistency and come in
39 semi-transparent colors. Mixing any of the other colors with 123 White will
create a pastel shade. You can make any color more transparent without
affecting the quality or consistency by mixing it with Jacquard Textile 100
Colorless Extender. (Another option, which I don’t recommend, is diluting the
paints with up to 25% water, since it will reduce their viscosity and
negatively affect the quality.) Mixing any other Jacquard Textile color
with #220 Super Opaque White will make it more opaque.
The
Jacquard Textile Color Exciter Pack
is an economical assortment that includes small bottles of nine of the most
useful colors in the line. It's a great way to try these paints without
investing a lot of money.
Jacquard Textile colors can also be mixed with Jacquard Lumiere, Neopaque or
Dye-Na-Flow paints or with Jacquard Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments to create
custom colors and effects.
Jacquard Neopaque and Lumiere
Neopaque is Jacquard’s line of light-bodied, opaque acrylic paints. They come
in 21 colors plus a Flowable Extender medium that can be used to make the
colors more transparent without altering the paint’s texture, consistency,
adherence and other key properties. Lumiere is a companion line of 33
beautiful metallic and pearlescent paint colors designed to complement the
Neopaque solid colors and have similar characteristics. My favorite Lumiere
paints are the color-shifting duo-chrome colors!
Even though the Jacquard Neopaque and Jacquard Lumiere lines have not been
optimized specifically for painting on fabrics, like the Jacquard Textile
line, they have many of the same characteristics and are also considered
fabric paints. After they have dried and been heat-set, both Neopaque and
Lumiere paints adhere to textiles very well, remain flexible and resist
cracking, peeling and chipping. I have used them to paint fleece sweatshirts,
both freehand and with stencils, and they have withstood many washings
well.
Both formulas are opaque, highly pigmented and provide good coverage, even on
dark fabrics. You can mix any Neopaque or Lumiere shade with Neopaque Flowable
Extender to make it more transparent without changing its consistency,
thickness, flexibility, adherence or other important characteristics.
Similarly to the Jacquard Textile line, you can mix pastel shades by blending a small amount of Neopaque White into any
of the other Neopaque colors.
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I've been using my first Jacquard Neopaque and Lumiere acrylic paint
Exciter Packs for many years.
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There are also a Lumiere Exciter Pack with 9 pearlescent and metallic colors and a
Lumiere & Neopaque Exciter Pack
with 7 metallic Lumiere shades plus black and white Neopaque. As with the
Textile line, these two Exciter Packs are a great way to get a nice variety of
colors in smaller quantities for a very affordable price. I have purchased
both of these Exciter Packs as well as full-size bottles of the Neopaque black
and white and Lumiere duo-chrome colors I use most. I recently bought another
of the Lumiere assortments because some older colors have been discontinued
and newer ones added.
Another advantage of Jacquard Lumiere and Neopaque acrylic paints is that they
adhere well to a wide range of surfaces including paper, wood, rubber, vinyl,
leather and rubber, in addition to fabric, and can be used for many different
types of projects. I have gotten more than my money’s worth out of mine.
For example,
I completely transformed an old pair of boring, frumpy, beige comfort
sandals
by painting the leather with Lumiere for the uppers and black Neopaque to edge
the sole, and then sewing on some faux jeweled trim.
Heat-Set Fabric Painting Medium
You also can achieve successful results by mixing permanent, highly pigmented art or craft acrylic paints 50/50 with a good quality fabric
medium, such as
Golden GAC 900 Heat-Set Fabric Painting Medium
or Martha Stewart Tintable Fabric Medium.
Pébéo Setacolor
If you are painting a very special piece of clothing or textile, you may want
to consider the Pébéo Setacolor line. These superb fabric paints come in an
extensive range of beautiful colors and finishes. Although they are more
expensive than the Jacquard fabric paints, superior quality, performance and
product selection make Pébéo Setacolor products a favorite among many
professional painted clothing artists and enthusiasts.
Pébéo Setacolor Light Fabrics are transparent and include 44 matte, metallic,
glitter, and fluorescent shades. Pébéo Setacolor Opaque comes in 77 matte and
“shimmer opaque” shades with glitter, pearlescent, metallic and iridescent
finishes that dry softer, smoother and more flexible than most other opaque
textile paints. There are also Pébéo Setacolor 3D fabric paints that come
in tubes with small nozzles that are great for adding raised outlines or
dimensional accents to your painted clothing designs.
The most affordable way to try these terrific paints is with one of the
10-color introductory sets, the
Pébéo Setacolor Light Fabrics Discovery Kit
or the
Pébéo Setacolor Opaque Discovery Kit.
Use Fabric Paints and Stencils for Beautiful, Affordable, One-of-a-Kind
Handmade Gifts
Stencils are made in just about any pattern or theme you could want and
require no artistic talent to use.
I have used inexpensive fabric stencils of flowers, gardening tools and bees to decorate a
sweatshirt for my mother-in-law who loves to garden.
One of my husband’s favorite gifts from me is a forest green sweatshirt I
purchased for him many years ago and stenciled with a cascade of metallic and
pearlescent autumn leaves. It has been worn and washed so many times that the
fleece is pilling, and the color has faded. By now, the paint isn’t quite as
bright or shiny as it once was, either, but it’s still hasn’t cracked, flaked
or worn off, and he still wears it proudly.
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My husband still loves and wears this sweatshirt I stenciled for him
many years ago.
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You can use alphabet stencils to personalize a T-shirt, hoodie or other
garment with the gift recipient’s name or add a meaningful word or
message.
Older children will also love using fabric paints and stencils to turn simple,
inexpensive pieces of clothing into personalized gifts for special friends and
family members.
Stenciled or hand painted tablecloths, napkins, placemats and table runners
also make wonderful gifts. Painting them with snowflakes, pointsettias and
other seasonal designs makes any holiday a bit more festive.
I hope I have inspired you to give fabric paints a try!
The Best Acrylic Fabric Paints for Painting Clothes and Accessories
The Best Acrylic Fabric Paints for Painting Clothes and Accessories by Margaret Schindel
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