Painted fabric napkins

Hands-on time: An hour or two to make four napkins (depending on the amount of detail).
Total time: Takes minutes to dry, 48 hours to set.
Skill: Easy and kid friendly.
Cost estimate: Pennies per napkin.

Materials & Tools:

• Plain cotton-blend napkins, placemats or table cloth (available at assorted retailers, or use linens you already have)
• Graphite transfer paper and pencil
• Painter's tape or low-tack masking tape
• Fabric Acrylics "SoSoft" by DecoArt in assorted colours (available in 58 colours)
• Newspapers to cover work area
• Plastic bags or plastic wrap
• Craft paintbrushes in assorted sizes

Add style and colour to plain dinnerware napkins and customize them to coordinate with your summer dinnerware or party theme. Fabric painting creations can be achieved with just a few simple geometric shapes in the latest dinnerware fashion colours with acrylic fabric paints. Acrylic fabric paints are as easy to use as regular acrylic paints - just brush on and let dry. SoSoft fabric acrylics by DecoArt have excellent coverage, they do not require heat setting, they are non-toxic and the colors dry soft and permanent, they can even be diluted to create an array of special effects and patterns using rubber stamps, sponges and assorted paintbrushes.

Pre-wash the napkins or linens for this project without using bleach or softeners and dry. Iron if needed. Cover your work area with newspapers and then place a large plastic garbage bag on top; doing this will prevent the fabric from sticking to the newspapers or your work area.

Draw a design concept such as geometric shapes or other motifs onto paper, then place graphite transfer paper under each design and position one on top of each napkin with low-tack masking tape. Use a pencil to trace over the designs to transfer them onto the napkins. Stencils, motifs or freehand style can also be used if preferred.

Secure the napkins to your work area with tape along the borders. Apply fabric paint as desired with assorted paintbrushes. Start at the center of each design and paint out to the edges using a single colour at a time, for example do all the purple areas on each napkin then repeat for each added colour. Working on one colour at a time will avoid smudging the previous colour.

You can also achieve a wonderful watercolour effect, with a wet-on-wet technique using a spritzer bottle with cool water. Apply the colour of your choice with a soft-bristle brush and apply more water to the same paintbrush to meet the boundaries of other colours and brush across the napkin in order for the colours to blend and bleed. The colours will keep on spreading until they dry.

In order to avoid the napkins sticking to the work area during drying, remove and hang to dry or allow fabric to lie flat on a clean surface until dry. Let the fabric paint set for 48 hours. Wash gently using mild soap and hang to dry.

Tips

• There are a variety of fabric paint brands available on the market. Read the labels to see which one is better suited for your choice of project, the variations and techniques are really countless. Look for other fabric paints available by Pébéo, Tulip, Plaid, and Jo Sonja's.
• In order to create chic original linen looks with SoSoft fabric paints, DecoArt also has a series of accents products available like Shimmering Pearls, SoSoft Glitters, and Color Resist. For a batik-like effect, use Color Resist to allow the colour of the fabric to show through, it works like a masking medium and is simply removed by washing the fabric item.

Variations

• Fabric paints can be use to brighten up many other household decorative items such as curtains, pillow cases, tablecloths, chair covers, lampshades, etc.
• Add a few punchy colour accents to spruce up a cotton blanket and paint coordinating napkins to make a summer picnic getaways set. Use a square sponge or stamp to make a checker-board pattern.
• For tie-dye fun without the mess of fabric dyes, simply add elastics randomly to the linens or clothing articles (to create starbursts, circles or striped patterns) and dip in diluted fabric paints, spritz or splatter onto the fabric, adding more elastics each time you apply a new colour.
• Younger children can also easily create their own fabric-art items on canvas shoes, t-shirts and tote bags with fabric markers by Crayola.
• Keep the kids busy at home or at the cottage with more ideas for summer crafts at KinderART.