Painting on fabric - very basic questions?

Question

I want to paint a rose on a thin synthetic fabric (transparent chifonne). I want it to look like watercolor. It would be a part of my dance costume, so it only needs to look good from far away, it doesn't need to be a great masterpiece. I found this website http://www.dharmatrading.com that seems to have everything I possibly need. But the question is, what do I need? I think I need a dye not a paint. Am I correct? What is French dye? What is Jacquard Silk Dye? Maybe I should use something completely different? What resist should I use? If you have an answer to any of those questions I'd really appreciate it.

I have a lot of spare fabric pieces to experiment with.

Answer 1

First off, if your fabric is synthetic, like you say...dye isn't going to work. If the dye can't soak into the fiber, it won't stay. Pretty much, unless your synthetic is rayon...you'll perhaps want to think about paint.

Acrylics should work if you water them down and they should act like a watercolor. Wherever you purchase your acrylic paint, you should be able to find what's called "textile medium." I can't remember if it's Delta, Applebarrel or Folkart that makes it, but it costs about $1. What it does is it will prevent your paint from cracking.

I would also recomment finding some way to keep the fabric, not stretched, but taut. Either seriously weighted down all around or push-pinned at relatively close intervals with white paper or waxed paper underneath.

Good luck

To answer some of your other questions:
The Jacquard Silk Dyes work beautifully and if you want a watercolor effect, it is pretty much exactly what you want...but it's designed for silk. Resists are best if you're doing a complete dye and want a specific area or design to remain the original color of the fabric. Resists are also good if you want to contain a design within an area, but are really only necessary if you're painting with a really watered down dye.

Answer 2

i think using spray paint or fabric paint (even if it is diluted) would not be the best choice because it would cause the fibers of the fur to stick together. This might give it a matted look from far away. Also you will never get a pure black when dying it (black are just really dark colors). If you dye it a darker color you run the risk of not getting a black cat but whatever color the black is based on (for example a red based black might dye it a dark red). This is important because fabrics can only be dyed so far. since it is already dyed you probably cannot get it to a black, but just a dark color. Don't bother with Dylon because it is basically high quality RIT dye. If you do use fabric paint I recommend Jacquard, which you can find in craft stores like Michaels and JoAnne's, it's easier to find than dyna flo

Answer 3

Well if it's only to be seen from a distance, you could get away with paint that's not specifically a fabric paint. Do you have a spare piece to experiment with (most important for most textile art)? Acrylic paint would be fine. If you need a firm outline you will need the sort of outliner used for silk painting to stop flow. Silk paint is very lovely, but it does spread fast, hence the need for outliner. If you use acrylic but very lightly (ie not too wet, but well thinned down with water) you might not need to buy outliner specially. Try different techniques and good luck!

Answer 4

Any fabric paint or liquid dye would work. You can get paints and brushes in your local craft store. The Dharma stuff is for if you are doing it on a large scale, lots of pieces that you will be wanting to wash by machine. Your chiffon skirt will be washed by hand anyway.

Fabric paint will be more solid, dye will have a less defined edge and you can see through it. . Either one can be just brushed on.


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Answer 5

IF U WANT TO MAKE A COSTUME FOR DANCING DYE IT DO NOT PAINT YOUR FABRIC ONCE U DYE IT LET IT SIT OUT AND DRY AND GET ALL COLORS DYE U NEED BEFORE DURING ANYTHING

Answer 6

Wow, you know how to make your own clothes. Cool!