2016 #12 Fabric Wall hanging {by Liz Borer}

2016 Topic 12: Fabric

Hi there everyone, Liz here again with some ideas about decorating fabric with stamps, paints and PaperArtsy Infusions.

I've decorated different pieces of fabric in different ways and then used the designs to make a Wall hanging. I'm not going to spend much time telling you how to make the hanging itself because I feel that this is more about ideas and inspiration for you to test and try in your own way.

This face is a design that I created using copyright free images. I then photocopied it and printed it onto printable fabric. I painted the design using PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk paints which I mixed with Matte Glaze. I used this mixture for 2 reasons: it makes any colour of paint more translucent, but more importantly in this situation, it stops the paint spreading through the fabric to places where it's not wanted.

The background was coloured with PaperArtsy Infusions (A Bit Jaded and Violet Storms) again, mixed with Matte Glaze. I added these colours randomly around the face , adding a little water if needed, and blending them together on the fabric . What was interesting about doing this was that although the infusions were already mixed with the glaze they went on spreading and changing to give a lovely mottled background.

To stamp a repeating design onto fabric I drew a grid on paper with a black pen so that I could see it through the fabric, and stuck the fabric over the grid so that it didn't move . I used EEB07 to stamp the design.

To create a repeat design I stamped the main image first, using the grid to ensure that each image was correctly placed. I then added more stamped images, masking the previous image. By doing this I could create quite a complicated design.

I actually made two pieces of fabric with repeated stamped images. One of them I stamped

.. with HP1506EZ

 ...and HP1304

But I did not colour them, creating a simple background. The second one I painted, mixing the paint with matte glaze as before to create a colourful fabric.

The next piece of fabric was coloured with Infusions. I shook the colours randomly over the fabric and then sprayed water over the fabric. In places I used a wet brush to encourage the colours to spread and mix.

Once the fabric was dry I painted a coat of matte glaze over the fabric to seal it because I wanted to use embossing powder and it tends to stick in the weave of unsealed fabric.

I then treated the sealed fabric just like paper and stamped and embossed the design, using a platinum metallic embossing powder. 

Stamps used: EEB08.

More Infusions, but this time through stencils.

I attached the stencil to the fabric using low tack glue on the back of the stencil. Using a stencil brush I applied matte glaze through the stencil and then sprinkled Infusions randomly over the stencil. I found that if I used the stencil brush again in a pouncing motion I could blend the colours before removing the stencil. I did try this with water instead of matte glaze but the water tended to bleed under the stencil and prevent a crisp image.

Here I've used a different stencil and different colours but the same technique. After I dried the first pattern I replaced the stencil and repeated the pattern to make a larger piece of fabric.

Once the fabric is dry, cut out the design leaving a border of fabric which can be frayed or hemmed depending on what you want to do with it.

I painted this dark fabric with matte glaze to seal it. I then stamped and embossed using an embossing powder that stays sticky for gilding. I then applied gilding flakes in the normal way. As you can tell, I am more or less using fabric in the same way I would use paper.

Even after the fabric is sealed, some tiny pieces of gilding flakes will adhere in odd places but I liked the effect.

The Wall hanging was made using a piece of firm grey fabric as the backing,  and also the same dark fabric to create borders top and bottom through which I intended to thread wooden bars to use as supports. I started the hanging by laying out the various decorated fabrics to find out where I wanted to place them. 

In this picture you can see the other pieces of stamped fabric which I left unpainted. To create a neat finish I hemmed the fabric where it would be on an edge, and then I sewed the base pieces in place. After that I added the rest of the decorated fabric and lots of different lace by sewing them all in place.

Here you can see another stamped and embossed design.

The butterflies were also stamped and embossed onto the piece of fabric coloured with infusions. The fabric had been sealed with glaze so I just cut them out. If you have sealed fabric with glaze, then it won't fray - handy!

I suspect that I will return to this piece in a few days and add more decorations. I think it would be nice to add some fabric flowers but I haven't decided yet . Sometimes I find that I need to leave a project alone for a while before I do anything else. I hope this has given you some ideas about decorating fabric and inspires you to find out lots of other techniques. 

Bye for now, Liz.
Blog: Decorative Delights

Liz this is like a masterclass in colouring fabric! Those infusions techniques are fascinating. So many different ideas, and the wall hanging is a sampler representative of them all. What a perfect showcase! Thank you. ~Gillian

We would love to see how you interpret this topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #12: Fabric, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. 

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Fabric link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, June 26th 2016. The winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.