Paint Technique Sampler Class Supply List
Painting Supplies:
Fabrics to print on – at least 5 yds. **see note below**
Fabric paint if you have any on hand, or if you want to have certain colors. (See note on fabric paint below.) Materials fee pays for a selection of wonderful paints for the class to use.
Small foam and/or bristle brushes
Scissors
Roll of paper towels
Plastic drop cloth for painted fabric to dry on
Plastic bag to take home any wet pieces of stamped fabric
Paper and pencil to take notes in class
Apron to keep your clothes clean
Optional:
Small rubber brayer (about 4 inch width). The kind with the removable roller is more versatile.
Rubber bands to create a fun background pattern with your brayer
Clean used aluminum foil for interesting texture when placed under your fabric when printing
Old towel (small) for padding the printing surface if desired
Please wear old clothes or a protective apron as being messy is part of the class!
About Fabrics to Print on:
Pre-washed* and ironed pieces of cotton fabrics in solids, tone-on-tone prints, batiks or hand-dyes are best. Solid black is very dramatic with paint! Bring background fabrics for the most part, but go ahead and bring some scraps of prints with more contrast if you want to see what effects you get. Scraps (larger than 3” squares) and larger pieces are equally useable.
If you have old jeans, cut them up and bring the pieces to paint on---the soft denim is wonderful to work with. Pre-washed T-shirts are also great for painting.
Heavier cotton or linen fabrics with some texture in the weave can be very interesting to paint on; solid colors are easier to use.
Sheer fabrics are definitely interesting to paint on, and are very versatile in projects. Sheer solids or muted prints are easiest to use, but bring scraps of anything you might have on hand to experiment with.
It can be fun to sop up leftover paint with cheesecloth, so you might want to bring that too.
Used dryer sheets can also be painted, and can be used to sop up paint as well.
I suggest bringing a wide variety of fabric to experiment on, totaling at least 5 yds. Painting is seriously fun!
*Wash your fabric with detergent without adding fabric softener to the rinse cycle or dryer. Many new fabrics are sold with chemical finishes that make them look pretty on the bolt, but prevent fabric paints and other media from adhering properly. If you don’t pre-wash, the images you stamp may not be permanent, even after you heat set them.
Note on fabric paint—I use Setacolor and Jacquard textile paints, and Versatex screen printing inks among others. Metalic paints are beautiful, and black and white are dramatic and useful for blending. I also print with ordinary acrylic paint, but it is not as soft as fabric paint when it dries.