Surely, when you have a touch of inspiration and you feel like renewing a fabric garment immediately with what you have at hand, you think of acrylic paint, but you forget that this type of paint doesn’t work on every kind of fabric.
If you are knowledgeable and have tried before with different fabrics, you probably know very well what I am talking about, but don’t worry, to fix the acrylic paint you can use other homemade items that you already have or can easily find.
I know that you think you need to buy a textile medium to help convert acrylic paint into textile, but that’s not true and I’m going to prove it to you here with 3 easy ways to know how to turn acrylic paint into fabric paint without medium (easily and homemade).
Top 3 ways how to turn acrylic paint into fabric paint
As you can see; you don’t need any textile medium or fabric medium, and all the necessary elements are available at home or easy to find in supermarkets or pharmacies.
You just need a little inspiration and choose the colors you like to put your acrylic paint on fabric and that’s all.
I assure you that with these 3 easy ways you will be able to wash all your garments as many times as you want and your painted design will remain intact.
Now let’s find out how to turn acrylic paint into fabric paint without medium!
Way 1: Homemade fabric medium
Essential items:
- Carpenter’s glue (or white glue)
- Water
- Measuring cup
- Acrylic paint
- Small containers
- Brush
In a small container place 100 grams of carpenter’s glue, you can measure it in a measuring cup and then place it in a container.
Then put 100 centiliters of water in the same container where the glue is (the important thing is to put the glue first and then put the water little by little in the same container) and mix them well.
In another container put 50 grams of acrylic paint in the color of your choice and then put 50 grams of homemade fabric medium just created.
Stir well until the entire medium takes the color of the paint.
Repeat this formula with each color of your design and always test before on a piece of fabric that you do not use before placing it on the final piece.
Always use a brush, so it is neater and let the fabric dry very well. Also, if you see that the paint is a little hard on the fabric, you can add a little more of the homemade medium.
Way 2: Acrylic paint on fabric without medium (and a little perfumed)
Essential items:
- Textile perfumer
- Acrylic paint
- Small containers
- Brush
In a container place by eye a spoonful of acrylic paint and 2 large spoonfuls of textile perfuming agent. Then mix both substances until they are combined.
This preparation does not need exact quantities, so you can do it by eye. If you see that the paint is a little hard, you can also add one more tablespoon of textile perfuming agent.
Repeat the process with each color you use and test it on a piece of fabric before applying it definitively as well (try to do this test process in all 3 ways).
Way 3: A little bit more professional
Essential items:
- Decoupage gel glue (or textile gel glue)
- Acrylic paint
- Small containers
- Brush
In this last option, we will use decoupage gel glue or textile gel glue, surely if you know this type of glue you have already dabbled in the world of crafts.
Here you will put in a container a spoonful of decoupage gel glue and a spoonful of acrylic paint (you can also add one more spoonful of acrylic or textile decoupage glue if you prefer to soften the mixture a little more), then mix well and test.
Don’t forget to repeat this mixture with each color you want to use.
Now, whatever shape you have chosen, the important thing is to let the fabric dry for at least 6 hours (in the best case 2 days) and then iron it with a piece of paper.
As for the medium, you know you don’t need an industrial one, which is sometimes difficult to get.
I can assure you that with these simple elements you get the same fixing effect.
It will also be more economically convenient and it will give you more yield if you have to use large quantities.
Clearly all this will depend on how much acrylic paint you want in your design or if the garment you choose to paint is too large.
Acrylic paint is really a very good option to use in different formats and materials.
Dare to fly with your imagination and paint everything you want, with the colors you love.
Now you know that if you can do without a medium, you are ready to create!
I hope you liked this tutorial on how to turn acrylic paint into fabric paint without medium and found it useful for all the textile crafts you would like to make.
You can also look at this post on Can you use acrylic paint on shoes?