Pounded Fabric - The Magic

Now for the results! After the fabric is completely dry, iron it and it is ready to use. (Several days in "real life") Here is the black Kona with the metallic paints I did for this demonstration.

Pounded Fabric right out of the plastic bag when totally dry.

Whole piece of Pounded Fabric after ironing

Close-up of Pounded Fabric

I also did a purple hand-dyed piece I wanted to show as another example. But this is an example of what happens if the fabric is too dry.  It IS a painted piece of fabric and definitely usable...but the fabric was too dry to assist in the capillary action between enough water and the paints. Those beautiful little feathery veins are very few. Oh it WILL get used for sure.  So as with so many surfacing techniques, all is not lost.  There are always alternatives!! And some accidents are quite wonderful. Even if you don't get the pounded fabric right the first time, you have not wasted anything!

Here is a piece I recently completed entitled "Deep Space."  The background fabric for this is a piece of black Kona pounded with different metallic paints. This is why I don't have any black pounded fabric left. It was just too perfect for this theme!!

Deep Space

I also used some pounded fabric on two pieces in my recent "Pecans" series. I love using pounded fabrics in a collection of surface designed pieces because the look is so different.

In "Emergence" I used some blue/green pounded fabric in the textile portion of this piece.

Emergence

Emergence (detail)

And in "Winter Harvest" in this series, I used another piece of the blue/green pounded fabric and a couple of bits of the black Kona/metallic pounded fabric.

Winter Harvest

Winter Harvest (detail)

I hope you have enjoyed this technique and will give it a try next time you have some leftover paint (or just feel like making some of this beautiful fabric). The combinations of fabric and paint are so many!! You can also vary the amount of paint used for a more subtle look. Most of all....Have fun!!

Pounded Fabric - The Process

OK...do you have all your tools ready?  Here we go!  I've chosen a black Kona fabric and some metallic paints. I've done this process before and love the results. I just used up the last piece so I'm out to make some more for future projects. I'm also doing a piece of purple hand dyed to show you some things as well.

Step One

Wet the fabric you will be using. It should be thoroughly wet then wring it out enough that it doesn't drip and isn't soaking wet. Don't get it too dry or the capillary process won't work as well.  So....somewhere between not dripping wet and not totally wrung out to the just damp stage.

Step Two

Place the wet fabric in the plastic bag.  Roll down the sides a bit to make it easy to get to the fabric. It should be placed loosely in the bag...not a tight little ball.

Step Three

Pour out your paints on whatever palette you prefer. You can keep them separate or mix them. They will become a bit mixed anyway when you pound them.

Step Four

Take your paint brush and wet it. Then moosh it into some of the paint.  Then begin to literally pound it into the fabric. You will want to turn the fabric and be sure it gets to most or all of the surface. Keep in mind, this really is a wet process. You don't really want the straight undiluted paint on the fabric. The water is what creates the beautiful effects.

Step Five

Loosely tie the top of the bag and place it in a warm place to dry out. I put mine in my supply/batching closet. This process can take several days.  It is best if you just forget about it for several days. If it is very slow in drying out, you might want to loosen the tied top a good bit.  It needs to get totally dry but not in a hurry. The magic happens during a slow, several days drying time.

Tune in tomorrow to see the results and an example of a piece used in an art quilt.

My friend, Wil, who showed me this technique is joining me to show you some of her results as well. I hope we can inspire you to recycle your paints and perhaps some leftover fabrics into a beautiful example of this surfacing technique!

Pounded Fabric - The Preparation

Several times I have posted pieces of my art in which I used pounded fabric for the background. Each time I have received many questions as to just what pounded fabric is.  Well....here is the low down on how to do it!!  It is a simple process but with wonderful results.

You only need 4 items to start.

Fabric - You can use hand dyed or commercial fabrics. This is a great opportunity to use some pieces that are not quite your "favorites"!

A plastic bag - like the kind you get at the grocery store when you check out

Paint Brush - use old ones you can get at garage sales. Don't spend much on these as you will see...they won't be adequate for painting anything else when we are done. I get mine in packs of 3 at the dollar store.

Acrylic Paints - this is a great technique to have ready after you are finished painting something and don't want to waste the leftover paints!

That's it!! Tomorrow I'll post the process and on Wednesday, I'll post the results with at least one piece in which I used pounded fabric!  See ya then!!