How
to Paint a T-shirt with Acrylic Paints
What?
Acrylic paints on a shirt?
You
read right... Regular acrylic paint can be used on fabric. You don't
need special fabric paints that are expensive - much more expensive than
regular craft acrylic paint.
And
after the paint dries, it won't fade or wash off when you do laundry.
I've had two t-shirts I painted a year ago and the colors are still
intact and just as vibrant as the day I painted them.
Supplies:
A
design... for ease just use your favorite stencil. Don't have one?
Get graphite paper and trace your design on the side of the shirt you
are painting (Instructions at the bottom)
Acrylic
paint in the plastic bottle although you can use the more expensive
tube paint
Sponge
dabber or pouncer to pounce on the paint, or paint brushes if you
traced a design
Cardboard
to put under the layer of fabric you're painting. I use old pizza
cardboard rounds after they've set for a couple of days and dried
out. Or find an old cardboard box and cut out a section large enough
to accommodate your design
Small
container of water to rinse your brush
Some
paper towel to absorb the excess water from your brush
Plastic
plate or something to hold a squirt of paint
Stencil
design:
Slide
the cardboard between the shirt layers positioning it where you are
painting your design – front or back. With straight pins, pin the
cardboard into place through the side of the shirt you're painting.
Slant your pins rather than pushing them straight through. If you
don't, you'll find out why I suggest you do. 'Nough said.
Tape
your stencil into place using masking or painters (blue) tape. I like
the blue painters tape because it lifts easily; isn't so hard to
remove.
Time
to paint!
Grab
a color... any color... your favorite color and squirt some into a
plastic plate. If you squirt too little, no problem. You can just
squirt more as needed.
Squirted
too much? No problem... when you're done, take the top off the
bottle, grab a brush or use your finger, scoop it up and add it back
into the bottle scraping your brush or finger along the lip line so
that the paint flows inside.
Wet
your dabber/pouncer then squeeze out the water with the paper towel.
Pounce it into the paint then begin pouncing the stencil shape
design.
Be
sure to pounce and not drag it as the paint will seep under the
stencil.
Note
that the material of the t-shirt soaks up the paint. This is okay but
I do suggest using a good gob of paint.
As
you pounce, you'll see less and less paint transferred onto the
material. Dab your pouncer often into the paint so you get good
coverage.
And
listen... there isn't one piece... NOT ONE PIECE of art out there
that is perfect. Ask any artist and they will tell you where there
are mistakes in their work.
No
lie...
So,
if you feel your shirt isn't perfect so what? Unless you've done one
horrible... and I mean horrible job of pouncing nobody will
notice. In fact, you'll get compliments on your shirt.
“Where'd
you get that shirt?” “Did you make that shirt?” “Can you make
one for me?”
Okay,
you've finished pouncing your shirt.
Leave
the stencil in place until the paint is fairly dry. Holding the
stencil in place with one hand, peel the tape off with the other
hand.
Lift
the stencil straight up.
Wash
off the paint from the stencil using straight warm water.
Leave
the cardboard in place until the shirt is completely dry. If you
don't, the paint will soak into the underside – or the second layer
– of the shirt if you remove the cardboard too soon.
Once
completely dry, remove the pins and cardboard. Some of the cardboard
may stick to the shirt. It will come off with the first wash.
Now
some suggest you throw the shirt into the dryer to set the paint.
I
have not found this to be true. I have never dried to set the paint.
I simply wait until the paint is dry – 24 hours - then I wear it.
Suggestions:
Stencil
acrylic paint on jeans, cloth napkins, jackets, baby onsies/body
suits, socks, dish towels, area rugs, sweatshirts, tote bags, edges
of sheets or table cloths... Only your imagination will get into the
way of thinking of ways to use this creative way to decorate
material.
Tracing
designs onto your t-shirt with graphite paper:
Using
blue painters tape which is easily removed, tape only one edge of
your design onto your shirt. You could also pin the paper design
along one edge.
Slide
the graphite tracing paper - graphite down - between your picture and the shirt material then on a hard surface begin
transferring with a ball point pen.
Don't
press too hard or you'll go through the papers.
Every
so often you can lift the paper and graphite paper to see where you
are or what you have missed. Just make sure you don't allow the
design to shift or move in any way. Other wise you'll have part of
the design in one area and continuing in another.
To the right is a black t-shirt I painted for my mother. She was so proud of it, she wore it to church the very day I delivered it.
For all of my original designs (NEVER sell designs you've traced that belong to someone else), I charge the cost of the shirt plus $10. Cheap when you consider the time put into it but I tell you, people LOVE the thought of a hand painted shirt.
You can find more original designs at my online store, Visages.
Below are some of my newest designs many of which you can personalize with a name or your own quote or saying!
