Testing a new (to me) 3D fabric paint set.
Recent Amazon.com flash sales helped me find some new art supplies and 'canvases' to try out. Recently, I decided to test some new (to me) 3D fabric paints on a plain apron.
The Design
I got a pack of twelve plain, black aprons during a flash sale late last year. The pack regularly costs around $12 USD. I only needed one apron for when I do arts and crafts projects, but I figured I could customize the others and give them away as gifts for my family.
I wanted to do a simple design on the apron since this was my first-time applying fabric paint with a paintbrush. It couldn't get easier than using a word or short phrase with a pop of color. I decided to use "Gettin' Crafty!" since I'd likely wear this apron while doing arts and crafts projects.
Initially, I thought I'd add the text to the apron with iron-on vinyl and paint doodles surrounding it. However, I accidentally grabbed a roll of premium removable vinyl before starting my craft project.
It would've made sense to swap the roll of premium removable vinyl for the roll of iron-on vinyl I intended to grab. Yet, I decided to try using the removable vinyl as a stencil of sorts instead.
I created a new project in Cricut Design Space to type out my phrase using the Segoe Script font. I went through the motions to cut the text with my Cricut Maker. I weeded the excess vinyl away from the cut phrase. I then burnished transfer tape over the phrase.
Applying the vinyl onto the apron was tricky. It required time, patience, and both hands to keep the vinyl from sliding out of place or not adhering to the apron. I had a lot of burnishing to do because the premium removable vinyl didn't want to stick to the smooth material of the apron.
Once the vinyl adhered to the apron, I taped the apron to my tabletop to keep it from sliding off while painting.
Crafts 4 All 3D Fabric Paint
I got a 24 pack of Crafts 4 All 3D fabric paints during a flash sale a few weeks ago. I've been wanting to paint on fabric instead of using my Posca paint markers as I've done this past year. I wanted to compare the two paint mediums and see which would survive multiple washes through the machine.
The paints came with three decent paintbrushes and a small fabric piece with an outline of a rose on it. I didn't know it came with the fabric activity, but I thought it would be best to test the 3D fabric paints on it before I painted the apron.
I placed parchment paper under the small fabric piece to protect the apron underneath it. I'm glad I did because the paint colors bled through the fabric.
I specifically wanted to try using the paintbrushes to apply the paints to fabric. I found using a wet paintbrush and adding a couple drops of water allowed the paint to spread easier. The colors mixed well together to create new colors. As long as the paint on the fabric was still wet, I was able to create gradients well.
Painting the Apron
Instead of using the paintbrushes provided, I opted to use a sponge cut up into smaller pieces. I thought it'd be easier and possibly quicker to dab color over the vinyl phrase.
I didn't worry about the vinyl letters shifting out of place while I dabbed blue, green, and pink paint colors over it. The vinyl remained in place long enough for me to get several layers down on the apron.
I removed the vinyl with my weeding tool being careful not to accidentally poke holes into the apron's material. I was pleased to see I had sharp, clean lines. No paint seeped under the vinyl.
While I thought the colors that I dabbed on looked nice, I decided to add some texture to randomly placing dots of the three colors directly from the bottle's nozzles. The colors directly from the bottle were more vibrant than the colors I dabbed on with sponges.
I used the smallest round paintbrush to add white highlights to the letters of the phrase. I thought this helped add a little visual interest to the overall design.
I then dabbed white paint in random areas over the background color to add more highlights. I used one of the larger brushes to blend the white paint into the colors it overlapped.
After a few hours, I removed the tape that kept the apron from sliding off my tabletop. I initially struggled to remove the apron off the tabletop. Once removed, I realized I forgot to protect the tabletop from paint bleed through.
Fortunately, a wet anti-bacterial wipe removed most of the paint colors that bled onto the tabletop. The pink didn't come off, even after scrubbing it with nail polish remover. It doesn't bother me, but it'll likely be visible in my future YouTube video uploads and blog post images.
My Thoughts
I enjoyed painting with the 3D fabric paint! I believe because I went with an abstract design, I enjoyed a fun arts and crafts project that didn't require any thought or much planning.
The paint colors showed well on the plain black apron. The paint colors lost some of its vibrancy once dried, except for the paint dots added to the apron directly from the squeeze bottles.
I haven't washed the apron yet since I just did this project last night. I read online that it's recommended to iron the fabric to heat set the paint before hand washing it. I'm curious to see how it fares in the washing machine, so I'll check that out in a few days.
What's Next?
There are many arts and crafts projects I'd like to do soon. I'll likely share several of those with you over the next week or two.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam