Using fabric paint on a polyester crinoline slip

Name: Lunia

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Country or region: US

Message: Hi Paula,

I want to paint this white crinoline slip blue, since I can't do the whole disperse dye thing and it's supposedly polyester. How much paint do I need to buy for the smallest size available? I'm trying to figure out if it will be more cost effective to use Dye Na Flow as opposed to a thicker fabric paint like Jones Tones or Dharma Pigment Dye which can be diluted a lot more. Shipping costs made me think twice about ordering online or by mail. Also, would you recommend sponge painting for a project like this? I don't mind a watercolor or cloud-like effect. Thank you so much!

Your willingness to go for a watercolor or cloud-like effect makes this a completely reasonable project. A mottled blue could be very pretty on your crinoline slip. Even the most amateur effort would show to advantage peeping out under a dress that covers most of it. It would be particularly beautiful to combine two or more colors.

I do need to point out that this would not be a good project if you wanted a single solid color, since fabric paint does not give a perfectly smooth solid color, the way dye does, but instead tends to produce somewhat mottled results. I get letters now and then from people who want to use fabric paint to color formal dresses a perfectly smooth solid color for a wedding, and I have to tell them not to bother.

It's important to know that the thicker type of fabric paints CANNOT be diluted more than thinner paints. Jones Tones and other thicker paints cannot be diluted to the point of being thin, because then there will not be enough binder present to glue the pigments to the fabric. A thicker fabric paint inevitably leaves a more noticeable feeling on the fabric than the thinner paint does; you cannot dilute it more to make it thinner, and still have it cover the original white color well, and stick well to the fabric.

The best way to pigment dye a polyester garment like this might be to crumple it up into a relatively small container, dampen it with water, and submerge it in fabric paint that has been diluted to the maximum allowed in the manufacturers' instructions, squeezing the paint throughout, and then hang the garment up to dry, carefully pulling at it as much as you need to in order to restore its original shape. You don't want the slight stiffness of the paint to interfere with the way the fabric lies. As it dries, the paint will become darker at the seams, where the paint tends to accumulate. Diluting the paint more than the manufacturers advise can cause the paint to cover less well and wear off more quickly. Perhaps wear is not an issue on a garment like this, though, which may be worn only once, so it might be reasonable to dilute it more. That slip looks as though it will be difficult to compress very much.

Alternatively, sponge-painting is a good way to do it. You could hang it on a non-rustable clothes hanger, over a waterproof tarp (preferably working out-of-doors), or lay it out flat on the tarp and do first one side then the other. Dampen the entire garment, and apply paint with a sponge or a large brush. If you do this, you must be careful to apply it quickly, applying wet-to-wet, not allowing any of it to dry before you have completed applying the paint. If you apply wet paint next to paint that has already dried, you will see a sharp line where the two applications of paint meet. As with the other application method, the paint will tend to accumulate more in the seams.

I think it's important to dampen the fabric before applying the paint. In fact, it might be best to soak it overnight in water, to make sure the water penetrates as much as possible, and then squeeze out as much of the water as possible immediately before applying the paint. This may be less important on polyester than on cotton or wool, though.

Do not use any fabric paint whose manufacturer does not recommend it for use on polyester. Some paints do not work on synthetic fibers. Jacquard Products says that all of their fabric paints will work on polyester.

How much paint do you need? Even the smallest size of that crinoline looks as though it is quite voluminous. I can't imagine that you'll need less than a quart of diluted paint. You might need considerably more. You will need to wash the garment before you paint it, to give the paint its best chance to adhere. Of course, you'll need to do this by hand. Pour water onto your crinoline using a one-quart pitcher, and use this to make a rough estimate of how much liquid it will take to color all of the material. I'd advise you to at least double this estimate when ordering your fabric paint. It is far better to have more fabric paint than you need, than less, in order to avoid letting some of the paint dry on the garment before you can acquire more.

Dharma Pigment Dyes are the most economical of the very thin fabric paints, because they can be diluted more. They are quite thin, like Dye-Na-Flow. One four-ounce bottle can be diluted to twenty fluid ounces (600 ml). Unfortunately, the colors are not currently available on the Dharma web site; perhaps it has been discontinued.

Jacquard Products' Dye-Na-Flow is a fabric paint that has been made very thin, to mimic the feel of a dye. You can dilute it only a little, by adding up to one-quarter its volume of water, though for an item that will not have to survive much wear you might be able to get away with adding more. One quart of Dye-Na-Flow lists for $34, or one gallon for $79, but you can probably find a lower price. I think Dharma sells quarts for $25, but I don't currently see it on their web site (perhaps there is a temporary malfunction there). To find a local retailer from which to buy Dye-Na-Flow, try the Jacquard Products Store Locator. The larger quart-sized jars of Dye-Na-Flow purchased via mail order may be more economical than the smallest jars at a local shop. (The gallon-sized jars are available by phone order from their Bulk & Specialty store.)

It's a pity that your crinoline slip happens to be made of polyester. The traditional fiber for crinolines was cotton. I used to use that same cotton crinoline to wipe metal plates in printmaking class. You can still buy stiff cotton crinoline fabric, which is much more easily dyeable than the polyester version, but it will not be inexpensive to find someone local to sew a new one in the shape that you want. Check out the beautiful hand-dyed mermaid crinolines being offered for sale on Etsy.com.

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Posted: Friday - June 24, 2011 at 09:58 AM

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Using fabric paint on a polyester crinoline slip

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