Friday, May 25, 2012

Save That Sweatshirt With Paint


I love my zippered hoody sweatshirts and wear one almost every day. Unfortunately, that means they are going to get stained with paint and sometimes bleach. So what to do? Paint a design on them to hide the mess and style 'em up at the same time!




Yup, this black one had white and blue paint AND bleach spots on it. No problem! I added the script and the dotted design and saved it.



And my grandson gives me his sweatshirts as he outgrows them. This dark grey one had a cool design that was almost worn out. This is what it looks like now that I've rescued it with paint.



And here is what it looked like before I worked on it. The light grey design was almost gone and it just looked worn out and grungy. Tho I understand, grunge is the new black, according to my grandson. Lol!




I used Patio Paint in silver metallic. See where I've started free form painting the cross design? Patio Paint metallics are the absolute shiniest craft paint out there and with a bit of fabric medium work perfectly for this project and others. The metallics come in gold, copper and silver and I love their durable shine!

Here is the front detail repainted. Love this!


On back I added curlicues and a flower, plus I redid some lettering to read "Mom." I didn't go for perfect coverage and kept the paint a bit blotchy as I worked on the design. I really like how it's come out and the silver really picks up the light!


On the black sweatshirt I used this pre cut stencil and chose which phrases and words I wanted. I added fabric medium to the plain white craft paint and pounced it on with a makeup sponge. Easy peasy!

And here is the link to the stencil page at  The Crafters Workshop, the company which makes this fun stencil. They have LOTS of cool designs.

http://thecraftersworkshop.com/The_Crafters_Workshop/New_Products.html


This says, "Art is just another way of expressing our innermost thoughts." Down the left sleeve I stenciled "today," "yesterday" and "tomorrow." I hope you can see the blue highlights I added to "Art." Then I added dotted swirls in white and blue plus some free form fireworks type flowers on the front and pockets. I really like how this design came out! Best of all, you can't see the bleach or paint stains on this sweatshirt anymore! :o)

UPDATE...I just washed this black sweatshirt with my regular laundry. I zipped it up and turned it inside out  and just let her rip, figuring if it held up to a normal wash it would be okay. It came out of the dryer unscathed and the paint is even a bit softer to the touch after laundering. Gotta love that.

Now I'm thinking of doing this to a new sweatshirt and see just what designs I can come up with. I remember way back when guys used lace to stencil designs on their cars. What if I did that on a sweatshirt using layered laces and appliques? Hmmm, now my brain is working on more ideas.

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7 comments:

  1. I cannot believe how cute those are! Great idea! Found you on Tater Tots and Jello.

    CJ
    craftsbycj.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the creativity here! Nice job. Silly me, I just walk around with bleach spots and paint on me. Who knew I should have been decorating the flaws!

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  3. You mentioned when you were painting this you used fabric medium...what is that? Why did you use it instead of fabric paint? Does one technique hold up better than the other? When the paint is mixed with the fabric medium and painted on the sweatshirt, does it make the design kind of crunchy?

    I live in a very DRY state and I've always wanted to try painting [or whatever] on fabric, but things don't hold up as long here. For example, the padded heels on running shoes get hard after a while, elastic loses it's snap, and sticky notes...we'll they fall off vertical surfaces after a while.

    So to paint, or somehow adhere a design on fabric, I need to find something that will hold up to the dryness and also not flake off either. Any suggestions you'd have would be much appreciated...great blog!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robin, I found no email for you and your blog is private, so I hope you return to read this. Fabric medium is a liquid additive for regular craft paint which makes the paint penetrate and stick better while maintaining a soft feel to the finished project. Painting fabric without it results in stiff and cracking paint which can flake off. I find it with the craft paints at my local Michael's, Joanne's Fabrics and even Walmart. I mix it one third medium to two thirds paint and have used this mix for dozens of painted tee shirts, tote bags and pillows. You could also order it online when the above store have a cheap or free shipping special and the cost is less than $3. Good luck with your projects!

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  4. love this---where did you get the stencil?

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    Replies
    1. Shay, I found no email for you or a blog address, so I hope you return to read my reply. I bought the stencil at a scrapbook convention here in Oregon. It is made by TCW with a website at TheCraftersWorkshop.com. Here is the link to their stencil page...
      http://thecraftersworkshop.com/The_Crafters_Workshop/New_Products.html

      They have many cool designs!

      Delete

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