Painting On Fabric Step By Step_Long Pictorial

Normally when I paint anything - I take step by step photos. Just a habit I got into long ago if I ever decided to create my own decorative painting patterns, and it stuck with me.

I know a lot of people think painting on fabric is hard - it really isn't ... especially if you use fabric paint and bypass the painting textile mediums.

Supplies I used:

Number 10 flat brush
So Soft paints
Lorrie Weber Court Jester pattern, available at Toletown.com
large piece of cardboard
12x12 Cotton square (which I cut from a well worn - but rarely used pillowcase)

Time allotted:

1 hour

For the Court Jester square, I used So Soft fabric paint - and to me - its the best thing out there to paint on fabric.



The colors are wonderful, the coverage is great - and that little bottle lasts a long time.

For this project, I needed a 12x12 square, which I cut from an old pillow case. I liked the pattern of the pillow case, as I thought it looked like child scribble - which was a perfect background for the Court Jester pattern. To transfer the pattern, you can use a fabric transfer pencil - but I didn't. I eyeballed the pattern and sketched it directly onto the fabric with a number 2 pencil.

Then I took the pencil and a ruler - and made a 1 inch seam allowance around the circumference of the square. For stability, I stapled the square to a piece of cardboard (a piece of an old flat PRIORITY mailing box) to make it easier to paint.

I only needed one brush for this project - and I used a number 10 flat brush with a good chisel edge. I started with So Soft Buttermilk, filling in the face.



Turning the piece, I filled in the hands. I did go over the face and hands twice, to make sure I covered everything...but it didn't take that much paint.



As I was painting, I decided to change the colors of the original pattern which called for blue and green ... to match the background of the fabric that I'd chosen. For the body, I decided on So Soft Terra Cotta. I outlined the body using the chisel edge of my brush, then filled it in.



In no time, the face and body were done.

Using So Soft Forest Green for the base of the crown, I filled it in. Then I outlined the top of the crown with So Soft Avocado Green and filled in.




When I finished, I took a step back to see if I missed any spots. At this point, the fabric will be sticking to the cardboard underneath. Don't worry about that - I didn't even adjust it, just kept on painting. It made for a more stable painting surface.

Using So Soft Gold, I filled in basecoated the bells, then took the tip of my brush and used the same color gold for the tops of the fringes.

And with that- all the basecoating was complete.

Now, comes the shading, which is really simple. The face and hands I shaded with a So Soft Dark Rose.

The top of the crown is shaded with the same Forest green as the bottom of the crown. The bells and shirt were shaded with burnt umber. All the rest of the details - the eyes, smile and fringes, I used So Soft Black.


Though Lorrie's pattern didn't call for it, I added extra details on the shirt and crown using So Soft Gold and the tip of my brush.



And the square is complete.



I will leave what you do with your square, up to you. This piece can be turned into a pillow, it can be part of many squares turned into a quilt ... it can even be painted onto a fabric bag, tee or sweatshirt. Painting on fabric is fun, easy - and quick. This entire project only took an hour to do.