Paint Your Linen To Get The Perfect Print
A pair of red shoes started this project. I found them on sale of course. They are so cute, so comfortable but also I had nothing to wear with them. Ha! Maybe I should have thought of that first. I usually lean toward minimal and handmade things in my wardrobe. I might lean towards minimalism and handmade more because I don’t have a huge closet and because I can make clothes, more than for the incredible sustainability reasons to be quite transparent. I don’t like to be wasteful and I enjoy making my own things anyway. But… I can’t make shoes! No I bought those cuties with little planning. Also, who knew I would struggle so hard to decide what to wear with red cork wedges?
Then I remembered I have several yards of FS Bleached Midweight Linen! This fabric is perfect for making my own print. It’s so often discounted to amazing prices if you’re on the Fabric-store email list and it is a great weight for a variety of projects! So, I decided to paint my own pattern! Painting your own fabric is very easy and offers you the ability to bring in whatever color you’d like to add to your wardrobe or create a pattern you’ve been wanting but just can’t seem to find out in fast fashion land. I have done a variation of this before with a stamping technique and found it to be color fast so why not try it with my own freehand painted inspiration.
You paint your linen print with a stamp or freehand design, it doesn’t matter, but this is how it’s done. Gather these supplies: Fabric Medium, Acrylic Paint in the colors that make you smile and the brushes that are the right thickness of your design. To keep it simple you can use paper plates to mix the fabric medium and the paint 2-1 ratio. I’ll share a photo of what I used. As always, wash and dry your fabric first. Lay out a sheet of plastic under your fabric. You can use a plastic drop cloth for painting or cut a kitchen trash bag to protect your surfaces and test your painted design on the fabric corner. When you’re happy with the design, go for it!
Once you have all of your fabric painted, allow the paint to dry. This was pretty quick for me as my lines were very thin. In under an hour, I was ready for the next step, which is heat setting. I put my fabric in the dryer for 15 minutes, but you can also choose to iron the fabric if you prefer. Once all these steps are completed, lay out your pattern pieces on the fabric and make the custom garment that you’ve been wanting. Maybe now you’ll even have something amazing to pair with those cute summer shoes.
FS PRF (Print Ready Fabric) BLEACHED Mid Weight 100% Linen
About Author
Alisha Cooke
Ma Ma Osa is a handmade clothing brand that offers heirloom quality garments and patterns, hand-made by a mother. We celebrate the cherished craft of sewing and seek to honor the art of slow fashion in all our practices as a brand.Leave a comment
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Make a Statement with Textile Paint for Fabric UpgradeAmy Vira
Beautiful dress. I’m wondering is there an advantage to painting the fabric before you sew or have you also painted on garments after sewing them up?
Alisha Cooke
I really like to paint before I sew. I think I don’t like the gamble that I would have a spill or mistake on a finished project. When I paint the fabric and don’t prefer an area, I can adjust the pattern to not include it. 🙂
Elaine Coniglio
The million dollar question…. How does it wash? Will the colors run?
Alisha Cooke
Not in the slightest! The fabric medium makes every bit of the painted area stay put and stay color fast. The picture of the fabric at my machine is after heat setting and then the photos of me in the dress are after washing the dress.
Susan Piland
Please do let me know when this pattern is available. It looks so cool and cute at the same time. Living in Texas, it would be a perfect dress for many occasions.
Susan Piland
Alisha Cooke
Ok, I absolutely will 🙂
Linda Hoskin
The brushes you chose were based on the width of lines desired. If my design has swirls like with flower petals or clouds, what kind of brushes are needed? Thank you!
Alisha Cooke
Great question Linda but I’m not sure I know. I think it would depend on the thickness of the petals. And maybe clouds could even be achieved with a stencil brush. You may need to experiment with a few.
Alison Seamans
Fabulous dress! Nice shoes too 🙂 Does the paint stiffen the fabric or change the hand at all?
Alisha Cooke
The paint stays relatively soft when using the fabric medium but I wonder if my painting were very thick if that would change. On this tiny print I feel very little difference but I might try and very large painted area sometime to see if the fabric medium still keeps the hand as light.
diana viotti
i am new to the idea of printing on line. what does ‘print ready fabric’ mean? is it a fabric i purchase, or something that is applied to the fabric?
diana viotti
*linen.
Lauren Gates
Hello Diana, For us, the print-ready fabrics are the ones without any finishes applied to them. So you’re looking for fabrics without our ‘Softened’ ‘Signature Finish’ or ‘Premier Finish’. They have a stiffer hand when you receive them, which makes them a perfect surface for painting and printing. Like all linen, these will then begin to soften up with washing and wearing.
Jeanie Puckett
In this case, she painted her linen herself – it’s easy to do (see the pictures above). Here is a paragraph from the post that may help you
“You paint your linen print with a stamp or freehand design, it doesn’t matter, but this is how it’s done. Gather these supplies: Fabric Medium, Acrylic Paint in the colors that make you smile and the brushes that are the right thickness of your design. To keep it simple you can use paper plates to mix the fabric medium and the paint 2-1 ratio. I’ll share a photo of what I used. As always, wash and dry your fabric first. Lay out a sheet of plastic under your fabric. You can use a plastic drop cloth for painting or cut a kitchen trash bag to protect your surfaces and test your painted design on the fabric corner. When you’re happy with the design, go for it!
Alisha Cooke
Everyone answered so well while I was helping my daughter’s floral business today 🙂 Yes, traditionally I think the untreated linen is used but I have painted on the “softened linen” as well and this method using fabric medium and acrylic paint did not fade noticeably at all. This could be testimony to the paint mixture or this could be because I pre launder all my fabrics.
Alice Elliot
Oooh. I just made a periwinkle blue linen shift that looks like women’s prison garb. I’m going to paint it! Thanks for the terrific inspiration!!
Alisha Cooke
Ha! I am sure it’s not all that bad but you made me laugh and I am very intrigued to see the before and after once painted. Feel free to tag my instagram handle once finished if you want to 🙂 ma.ma.osa
Nancy Stockman
Do you by chance have a picture of the fabric before cutting? I need a little help on overall spacing. Thanks!
Alisha Cooke
I don’t think I can add a photo here but maybe I can put one on my instagram story. Let me see.
Amelia Vaughn
Ma Ma OSA, love your website, your garments are terrific. Do you sell the pattern to the painted garment featured in this blog entry? So cute, and I love the underarm features. It’s a little surprise to an otherwise traditional shift. I may just have to get my crafty on and try to figure it out myself!!
Alisha Cooke
Thank you Amelia, I don’t have the pattern ready to sell but my daughter is encouraging me to make it available asap. 🙂
Amanda Serrentino
I second that request for a pattern! This is such a lovely dress!! That underarm detail is so special and unexpected. I love how it elevates a simple shift pattern (one of my favorite silhouettes!). The fabric printing turned out beautiful, perfect with your new shoes. 🙂
Joan Ferguson
Dharma Trading has an amazing supply of fabric dyes and paints (and tutorials). Our sewing group (before covid) dyed scarves one week and the following used shiva paint sticks with stencils. Great project. Lots of ways to embellish fabrics!
Cindy Clark
I just got me some acrylic paint pens to play with on my daily apron and see if I can duplicate a gorgeous, embroidered negative space pattern I saw on a piece of old linen years ago!
Alisha Cooke
That sounds fun!
Epeemom InTX
I love this-have been wanting to paint my own cloth for a while- but it is important what kind of paint! There are questions- any kind of acrylic paint or did you use paint specifically for fabric? What about washing after wearing?
We need the whole story!
Thanks, KB
Alisha Cooke
Good morning Epeemom! When using the method of fabric medium mixed with acrylic paint, it doesn’t matter what brand of acrylic paint you use, it only matters that you mix the fabric medium in 2-1 with the paint. I’ve used Apple Barrel, Ceramcoat, Americana and Martha Stewart acrylic paints and all have stayed color fast after washing completely normal every time. Right now I have Delta Creative Fabric Medium but I have also used Martha Stewart Fabric Medium and both worked. *I wash my linen on cold and tumble dry low every time because I pre wash and dry before making my garment. Have a lovely day.
Dawn Cameron
2 parts medium, 1 part paint? Just want to be sure I am reading it correctly.
Thank you, Dawn
Lauren Linen
Hi Dawn, the medium you are using will have mixing instructions on the bottle, and it can vary between brands.