I’ve been seeing a lot of art using cheesecloth lately, so I finally had to give it a try. However, before creating anything with this fabric I need to paint it.
Julie Booth uses a lot of cheesecloth in her art right now, and I’ve really been attracted to the texture it brings to a piece. She wrote an article in the April/May 2019 issue of Quilting Arts magazine on how to paint it. I’m painting it just a bit differently.
Let’s start with the cheesecloth. The cheesecloth I bought was in yards. I cut pieces about 16 inches by 36 inches for this session.
After the pieces were cut I scrunch them up and place in these containers I also use for dyeing. They are just used yogurt containers. I love how the cloth looks in the containers!
I’m using Setacolor paints. They used to be called Transparents, but now are called Light Fabrics. These are my go-to paints for sun printing.
I am mixing about a tablespoon of paint with water. I’m not measuring, just getting a nice amount of paint, and then adding water.
Next I poured the watered-down paint on top of the cheesecloth.
I let them set for 30 minutes or so. When I squeezed out the paint, if the cheesecloth looked to light for me I just put it back in the paint water. Once I was happy with the color, I laid them out on a piece of plastic to dry. They are so yummy looking!
I checked them several times during the day, and they were still damp so I let them dry overnight. Here are my results.
The colors are so yummy! Next time I’ll add a little more paint to get even richer colors.
Now to use them!
So pretty. I immediately went to my “hippy days”, and thought, “cool curtains” !
Can’t wait to see what you do with them.
Dolly, You are funny!! Didn’t think of curtains but a possibility if I didn’t have cats!! Yeah, I look forward to what they will be used for too.
Fabulous tutorial, Lynda! Thanks so much. You’ve made me curious as to if Inktense blocks could be used for a setting dye . . . ever try such? And I also look forward to seeing how you using your cheesecloth in an art project . . . awesome texture! ***smiles***
Thanks for the “shout out “ Lynda.. you know … I just love that cheesecloth!
Hi Ann, I’ve used Inktense blocks on fabric instead of fabric paint. Instead of water, I used GAC 900. ( https://lyndaheines.blog/2019/02/22/thoughts-on-free-motion/ ) I bet they would work on cheesecloth, but would take a bit longer. Thanks. I hope to use them soon.
Julie, Thank you for all of your inspiration!! And thanks for dropping by.
Painting on Cheesecloth is not an easy task. Thank you for sharing your ideas and experience. I hope this will help in the future.
Rick, Thanks.
Hi Lynda, thanks for sharing such a nice post regarding the Painting on Cheesecloth. I’m just learning to paint on fabric.
Afsana Olivia recently posted..Can I use tempera paint on fabric?
Afsana, Thanks for dropping by. If you’d like more information on painting on fabric, check out my tutorials. I have worked with all types of paint, but really prefer using fabric paint which there are lots of different types.