[MR] Pennsic walls

[Ceara ni Neill]

Greetings!

wash & dry your fabric to remove the sizing & to shrink it. You'll want to
wash it after it gets used anyway, it would be a shame to spend all that
work painting & have it come out all funky because of shrinkage.

Use acrylic paints. Unless I'm stamping, I draw the design on in pencil
(or tailor's chalk if you're worried about needing to erase lines). You
could also make patterns on paper and trace them onto the fabric. Anyway a
stiff fabric brush is good, or if you have large areas to cover use a
square of cardstock or posterboard and 'scrape' the paint into the fabric.
This presses the paint into the fibers and uses a minimum of paint, so it
doesn't get blotchy or caked. Dont' be afraid to put on a second coat
after it dries. Using paper squares, one will often find there is a need
for a second coat--but the end result is nice, even coverage & rich color.

When you're done, if you've used newspaper or some such behind your fabric
(which you should), dont' be alarmed if you have bits of paper stuck to
the paint that doestn' want to come off. Pull off as much as you can &
then throw the thing back in the washer on gentle cycle. that will get all
the paper off.
Last time I block printed white paint on black fabric, it came out of the
washer with a white powdery film (from the paint) all over the fabric.
Once it was dry I used a broom & it swept off. BTW, you can throw these in
the dryer too. If your paint is too thick as to make the fabric
inflexible, I would be cautious about putting it through the washer &
dryer though.

A few thin coats will look much better than one thick coat. Patience is
the hardest part here.
Have fun, & good luck on your project!

-- 
===Ceara ni Neill
http://HouseBarra.com
=================================

> Good Gentles,
>
> As usual, I've come home from Pennsic inspired, but this year I'm
> actually going to put the ideas in motion and get a jump start on next
> year's Pennsic!  To that end, I am looking for advice on the best way to
> paint camp walls.  I have some great material that has some sizing on
> it.  Is it better to wash that out before I begin?  Also, what type of
> paint works best (ie. doesn't bleed, doesn't wash out, etc.)?  Do I need
> to seal the paint with anything?  Any help anyone could give would be
> greatly appreciated!
>
> Lady Alainne d'Ancenis
> Barony of the Bright Hills
>                    The Merry Rose Tavern at Cheapside
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