Stencilling on Fabric with Posh Chalk Pigments

A big thanks to Mara La Fay from Vintage Retail Therapy for the inspiration behind this week’s blog.

Stencilling on fabric – should you, shouldn’t you? It’s a bit daunting isn’t it?

Well, it doesn’t have to be. Take a little trip with me as I briefly explain how to successfully pimp up your pillows with Posh Chalk!

Now, when stencilling on fabric, it’s advisable to put in the ground work early. Get your prep done correctly and everything will begin to fall into place. First up, pick your fabric, you can stencil on pretty much any fabric with Posh Chalk, but a nice tight cotton (or any natural fabric) tends to be a little easier to work with. So you’ve chosen your fabric, it’s a good idea to wash it first. Washing it will remove any sizing – a sort of protective glaze – we’re trying to create the best environment for the Posh Chalk Products to do their work.

When washing it, ensure that you do not use any fabric softener and that it is well dried after. Depending on the fabric, it may be a good idea to iron it too, this will flatten any errant fibres and give you a much better surface to work on.

All dried and ironed? Right, we’re good to start stencilling on fabric!

First up, the actual stencil, all the Posh Chalk Stencils are ultra durable and nice and thick. This makes them perfect for a task like this. It’s sort of up to you on how you approach affixing your stencil, if you’re using a flat piece of fabric, it’s well worth using a little spray mount, or even some tape. This will ensure them clean, crisp lines when you’re done stencilling on fabric.

If you’re working with something like a pillow case and you want to avoid bleed through to the other side a good tip is to use a piece of parchment paper – just slide it right in there and it will preserve your reverse side. Keep a bit more parchment paper for later!

When using the Posh Chalk Pigments, pick a suitable top coat sealer – the Posh Chalk Infusor will work well here – if you’re using the patinas or the pastes you can go right ahead and get to work. A word to the wise though, it could be worth thinning the Aqua Patinas and Pastes a little, this will ensure it is well taken up by the fabric. Our Artisan Patinas are oil based, so you’ll have to make sure that you have enough on your brush to transfer to your fabric.

Speaking of having enough on your brush, this is a bit of a balancing act, you want to make sure you’ve got enough product on your brush for the fabric to take up, but not enough to bleed underneath the stencil. Remember, you can always add more, but you cannot take it away, so go steady. Then, just enjoy yourself, get creative and remember, a good pouncing method will work well here.

Once you’re finished, whip off your stencil and leave your fabric flat for 24 hours, this will leave enough time for your product to dry and really get taken up by the fabric. When the 24 hours is up (assuming you managed to keep the kids/cat/dog/partner) away from it, the final step is to heat set it. Grab some more of that parchment paper and set your iron to the highest heat it will go, ensure it is on a dry setting no steam. Place your parchment paper over your design and work the iron in small concentric circles. This sets the pattern in place and ensures it’s durable and can be used, and more importantly, washed, time after time. When stencilling on fabric , it’s a good idea to be a little cautious on your first wash. Wash your fabric by itself on a cool setting – just as you would a new red top or something.

Easy peasy!

Want more Posh Chalk Pigment inspiration? Check out what else you can achieve with them – Three Reasons Why Posh Chalk Pigments Are Perfect For Your Next Project

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