I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a T-shirt with rubber stamps, and googling yesterday didn’t lead me to any definitive “how-to” sites. Does anyone have experience with this?
Specific questions:
[ul][li]fabric paint vs. fabric ink – which is better, and where do you get either of them (standard crafts store?)[/li][li]applying the paint/ink to the stamp – some places recommend making yourself a stamp pad out of craft foam (??) and others say to apply the paint/ink to the stamp with a brush – what kind of brush? Again, is one technique better than the other?[/li][li]“setting” the paint/ink – most sites seem to think ironing it was the best bet – one said to then set the item aside for a week to let it finish setting – one said you could throw the item in the dryer – !![/li][/ul]
Plus any other tips or suggestions you had – thanks!
Well, I’ve never rubberstamped on fabric before but I have a great deal of experience with both working with fabric, fabric painting, and rubberstamping. A lot of your questions are going to depend on your fabric and your desired result. So here are some suggestions:
[ol]
[li] Get a scrap piece of the fabric (or type thereof) you want to stamp and use it to test different types of ink/paint and different methods of application. What works on dark velvet may not work on t-shirt material and vice-versa.[/li]
[li] You are more likely to find paint in the color you want, and fabric paint comes in a variety of textures - slick, puffy, soft and more. Soft is the only one that will leave the fabric soft - the rest will feel rubbery. Paint will come in colors that show up on dark fabric. Pant will rest on top of the fabric[/li]Ink will soak into the fabric (I don’t know how this will affect rubberstamping). It will not cover dark colors and the color will depend on the color of the base fabric. Ink will always be soft. Inks may not apply well to inorganic materials such as polyester (or blends thereof). You’ll need paint for those.
[li] I would only use a brush to apply the color to the stamp if I was doing a multi-color design. A pad will be much easier. I’m not sure what the best brush to use would be - ask your local craft store for that. [/li]The craft foam stamp pad is a good idea. Craft foam is a very dense foam rubber that is popular for crafting right now. It’s about an 3-5 millimeters thick in multiple colors, and they use it a lot for kid’s crafting. Your craft store will probably have an over the door hanger made out of it for display.
[li] Setting the design is going to depend on the specific brand od color used. When I painted a sweatshirt, I didn’t need to set the color at all. Check the instruction on the bottle.[/li]
[li] I recommend a fairly simple design with heavyish lines. A fine weave fabric such as poplin or silk will retain details well, but a knit, loose weave or textured fabric will lose details quickly. Besides your basic rubber stamps, there are stamps that are made out of a dense rubber foam thicker than the craft foam[/li]
[li] Not exactly what you are talking about, but a really cool stamp technique on velvet/velour is to place your stamp with the stamping side up on a stable surface, put the fabric fuzzy side down onto the stamp and put a hot iron on top and press down for a 10-15 seconds. (That may be more - I’ve only read about the technique). The downside to this is that the rubber eventually comes off the wood block.[/li][/ol]
Zyada – thanks very much for your detailed answers!
Sounds like I want:
[ul][li]A light-color, all-cotton T-shirt[/li][li]stamp[s] with not-too-finnicky design[s][/li][li]craft foam to make my own stamp pads[/li][li]fabric ink or soft fabric paint in medium to dark colors[/li][li]my trusty iron, to iron the shirt when I’m done to set the colors.[/ul][/li]
This seems well within my not-too-extensive crafty abilities. I’ll let you know how it goes!
There are also fabric crayons and fabric markers if you want to freehand - be brave!
To set the colors, use a pressing cloth (a towel will work just fine) and NO STEAM. Don’t run the iron back and forth, just press, lift, press, etc. to cover the design. I think the paints Zyada is talking about are the kind that come in tubes similar to glue, but there are also fabric paint pots that are considerably softer than the “squeeze” paints - and you can brush them directly onto the fabric or the stamp. (The color WILL sit on the fabric, rather than soaking in, but much less so than the squeezy kind.) In the same craft store aisle you find the fabric paints, you’ll probably also find fabric paint brushes - usually white, soft bristles. I paint the color onto the stamp, as I find the paint is kinda thick for using with a pad, and it tends to ooze on me. I like my lines clean and sharp, and painting the color onto the stamp gives me more control.
Prewash and dry the shirt before painting - especially if it’s 100% cotton.