One of my friends had been eyeing a scarf online that had printing across it like large calligraphy. I loved the idea of putting words meaningful to you on a scarf so when I was given the opportunity to try DecoArt's new paintline called Ink Effects, I thought it would be perfect since the ink sinks into the fabric when you iron it on and leaves it soft instead of crunchy like a traditional iron on transfer.
Supplies Needed
- Iron
- Scarf (I got mine on clearance at Target)
- If your scarf is more than 30% cotton, you will also need Ink Effects Base Coat
- Words to trace, printed in "flip mirror image" mode
- Ink Effects Paint (I used black and violet)
- Paint Brush
- Pressing cloth if you're using delicate fabric like I did
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
ake sure when you print out your text that you go into the options and tell your printer to print it in "flip mirror image" mode. My text printed out black but you may want to print yours in light grey so that you can really easily see where you painted. I also printed two copies of the words so I could paint one black and one violet. Mine says:
act justly
love mercy
walk humbly
Step 2: Paint Your Paper
Keep in mind that only what you paint is going to transfer so you want to make sure you hit everything. Let the paint dry for 30 minutes and then add another coat if you'd like. Let everything dry for 30-45 minutes or until it's completely dry.
Step 3: Iron It On
Heat up your iron as warm as it goes and turn off the steam. Since my scarf is made from 100% polyester chiffon, I wanted to protect it from the high heat with a thin cotton cloth. I laid one piece of scrap fabric on top of the ironing board, laid out the scarf and placed the words (note that I cut apart the words so I could space the parts of the phrase out better). Then I topped it with another thin piece of cotton.
Iron over the words and keep the iron moving at all times. Do this for about 40 seconds (I know the paint bottle says 30. I got better results with 40). Remove the pressing cloth and the paper.
You can re-use the painted design several times all over your garment. When you go back to iron for time number two (or three or four or five), use the iron for 60-70 seconds instead to get a good transfer image. Keep placing and ironing and placing and ironing and placing and ironing (you get the picture) until you have enough text in enough places to make you happy.
That's It!
I really love how the texture of the fabric isn't changed so it's not crunchy or stiff like it would be with paint or regular iron transfers. Everything is still super soft and silky. Plus the paint looks way classier than if I had drawn on the scarf with sharpies (which is what I thought about doing before I heard about this great product!)
One of the other super cool things about this paint is that you can paint and transfer anything you want...not just text text. You can paint and transfer from any type of paper, too. Coloring book pages anyone? Next, I'm thinking about designing my own soft book for my son.
DecoArt's Ink Effects line is coming to Jo-Ann Fabrics soon. In the meantime, you can check them out online here:
Facebook ~ Pinterest ~ The DecoArt YouTube Channel
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