I love this easy tutorial from Lil Blue Boo to paint on fabric. It is especially fun to do with kids; Lil O loves painting on just about anything, fabric included. Once the fabric paint dries and I set it with a hot iron, I then iron-on fusible adhesive (that I purchase by the yard at a fabric store) and voila, homemade patches are ready to embellish any plain t-shirt, tote bag, or skirt!
I do have some tips that I can offer as Lil O and I didn't exactly follow the entire tutorial:
- We used fabric paint that I bought at a craft store, but Susan from Crafterhours taught me a trick: Any acrylic paint will do! Who knew? Plus, I love those little bottles of colorful acrylic paints each costing just $.99-1.59/bottle.
- Lil O did follow the tutorial and made a rainbow patch (I would have photographed it, but I think it is with her summer bins of clothing in storage). I found using a disappearing ink pen (bought at a fabric store) was helpful to draw the shape for her just like Ashley shows in the tutorial.
- We only used our spray bottle of water to lightly mist the fabric, unlike the tutorial where the fabric seems more saturated.
- We did not sprinkle salt on ours. I completely forgot this step, but I think the patches all turned out lovely without it.
- Since I love the look of a sewing machine stitch around a patch, Lil O and I did stitch each patch. However, since we used iron-on fusible adhesive, the stitch is only decorative and simply reinforces the patch.
It is almost tank-top season around here. I'm thinking we might need to make some spring/summertime patches to spruce up our wardrobe.
Have fun,
Jen
