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.