How to paint an acrylic t-shirt at home, 9 easy ways
T-shirts have long ceased to be classified as underwear. They are an important part of the male and female wardrobe. For sewing t-shirts, light linen fabrics are used, decor and additional elements are added. Lightweight jersey is easy to dye. Thanks to this, a variety of prints are created on T-shirts. To revive an old faded t-shirt, you can paint it with acrylic or aniline paints.
What type of fabric can be dyed
Natural fabrics with a high cotton yarn content lend themselves to permanent dyeing. Silk, linen or wool fabrics dye well. The color scheme covers them quite evenly, it withstands repeated washing.
Mixed fabric types are less susceptible to stains. On products that contain different amounts of natural and synthetic fibers, the color palette is uneven, the chosen shade may be distorted. Fully synthetic fibers are dyed in different ways, special technologies are applied to them:
- Bologna type fabric is only cold dyed;
- polyester lends itself to dyeing with acrylic dyes, resists painting, maintains clear color boundaries for a long time;
- finished products made from blended jeans are dyed in a special hot process.
Which paint is right
For dyeing, various dyes are used, which are selected depending on the type of fabric, length and type of product. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the complexity of the staining procedure:
- a small amount of paint is enough to paint a plain white T-shirt;
- to repaint a T-shirt in a different color, a more resistant paint is necessary;
- to create different shades on a product, colors are used, dyes of different types are added.
Acrylic
Acrylic dyes are suitable for working with natural fabrics, they cope well with cotton T-shirts. Acrylic is used in the weathering of silk, wool, linen products. With their help, inscriptions are applied, lines are drawn.
After the T-shirt is dry, the acrylic is attached to the fibers and is not washed off during washing. Acrylic stands out for its bright colors and ease of use.
Information! It is necessary to wash products painted with acrylic dyes at temperatures up to 35 degrees.
Aniline
This type of dye is suitable for working with natural fabrics, but it causes color distortion and does not adhere well to fabrics containing more than 60 percent artificial yarn. Aniline dyes are applied to the fabric using the batik technique. Batik involves heating the product in hot water with an aniline solution. After boiling, the paint is fixed by immersion in a saline solution.
Aniline is suitable for performing coloring with a gradient scheme. Using aniline dyes on t-shirts, they create an ombre effect, and when dyeing a rolled or twisted object, you can get beautiful stains with color transitions.
Plastisol
Plastisol dyes are called PVC dyes. These are the only thermoplastic types used for coloring. Screen prints are made from solid pigments. Plastisol dyes are used to create patterns on different types of fabrics: mixed, fully synthetic and natural. Special elements are added to the solid bases:
- additive "stretching" helps to increase tissue elasticity;
- the addition of "fluorescent" contributes to the creation of an impression that glows under the influence of ultraviolet rays;
- adding "3 D" helps to create the effect of a three-dimensional image.
Plastisol dyes are of the highly stable type. The disadvantages of using this raw material can be the presence of a film that remains after painting. It presents difficulties in taking care of a converted article. The film reacts poorly to heat treatment, which means that T-shirts with patterns applied with plastisol cannot be ironed and washed at high temperatures.
Aerosols
The advantage of using aerosols is that it can be used on any type of material. Aerosols are applied in a specially created stencil pattern. Application with an aerosol can fix the paint on all layers of the fiber, does not fade after repeated washing.
Basic methods and instructions
To successfully decorate a white T-shirt or restore a colored item, you need to choose special accessories and prepare well for the painting procedure. The progress of the work depends on the technique that is the basis of the technique used.Before beginning the dyeing process, prepare containers for mixing dyes, fixers, brushes or other application devices.
Information! When painting, clothing and face are protected from contamination with gloves, mask and apron.
Gouache painting
The use of gouache is a method of creative expression. Using gouache on the fabric, T-shirts express their thoughts, draw a fancy print or make meaningful inscriptions. For drawing, take containers with gouache, PVA glue and brushes. Gouache and glue are mixed in equal parts, then the drawing begins. This method makes it possible to create a varied, but unstable impression. After the first wash at a temperature above 25 degrees, the pattern will completely disappear.
Acrylic paints
The method of applying acrylic does not differ from the techniques used when applying gouache. The drawing is fixed with a brush, making strokes of the same thickness. Then the T-shirt is dried for 24 hours and ironed through a layer of gauze. Such a product can be washed off after 48 hours from when the acrylic dries.
With wax crayons
You can paint a white T-shirt with wax crayons. To do this, pencils are grated and applied to the prepared areas of the T-shirt. Sheets of white paper are placed inside the product to protect the sewn part from damage. The rubbed crayons are covered with white paper, the area is ironed with a hot, preheated iron until the surface of the paper is free to trail behind the surface of the t-shirt.
Black
Black is considered no less moody than white.Painting the T-shirt black assumes an even application, with no visible streaks. A washing machine is used for even coloring. A solution with a pigment, diluted according to the rules described in the instructions, is poured into the container for the powder. The washing machine is started in the "Hand wash" mode, taking into account the water heating temperature of at least 50 degrees. After processing, the product is rinsed in cold water with vinegar. This helps solidify the color.
In different colors
There are several technologies for multicolor coloring:
- Immersion method. The T-shirt is boiled in different dyes with a predetermined sequence. For example, a white T-shirt is dyed yellow, then a sleeve is immersed in red dye, a brown sleeve is obtained, then according to a similar principle.
- twist method. A wet white T-shirt is rolled up with a tourniquet and tied with elastic bands. Then, using a spray can, different colors are applied from different sides. After drying, the rubber marks will remain white, and the paint applied to the rolled T-shirt will be in arbitrary lines.
Tie-dye technique
The technique has become widespread among those who work with fabrics. Tie-dyes are used to create lines of varying lengths and widths. To do this, the t-shirts are arbitrarily folded, tightly tied. Aniline or acrylic dyes are applied with a brush to all sides of the product, then left to dry completely.
The t-shirt is only unpacked when there are no more wet areas on it. After drying, the product is dipped in a fixer, then dried again.
By divorce
You can make streaks on a white or colored T-shirt in different ways:
- by immersion in a solution with pigment and constant agitation of the product;
- hand painting with aerosols;
- using the technique of tie-dye, shibari or batik.
To achieve the appearance of stains, it is enough to interrupt the coloring process so that the color scheme cannot settle in an even layer, but leaves stains.
Shaded effect
Ombre or gradient are such coloring techniques in which one shade is smoothly replaced by another without setting a clear transition boundary.
To achieve a smooth transition, you can use one of the following techniques:
- Immersion. Several marks are made on the shirt: the first level is the level where the color gradually fades. The second mark is where the color should be saturated and bright. First, the t-shirt is immersed in the solution for 2 minutes to the first mark, then it is carefully removed and immersed to the second mark for 2-3 minutes. After that, the product is rinsed in a fixer and dried.
- Spray. Spray paint is applied in layers. For each subsequent application, the solution in the spray can is diluted with water to reduce the tone of the chosen color.
Sibari
A technique that allows you to create a variety of impressions. The t-shirt is arbitrarily folded, tied with rubber bands and threads, small objects of different shapes are placed on the side of the seams. After applying the coloring pigment, the T-shirt is unrolled. After drying, the product is rinsed in cold water with vinegar.
Additional tips and tricks
Home fabric dyeing can fail if you neglect these time-tested tips:
- When planning your first dye, it's best to take a piece of unwanted fabric and try different techniques on it, then start dyeing the t-shirt.
- It is recommended to wash dyed clothes separately from the rest of the clothes, at low temperature.
- Natural dyes are used to decorate or restore children's things, while dyeing techniques do not differ in the method of execution.
- If the synthetic t-shirt is colored unevenly, but this has not been provided, the product can be rinsed off quickly with warm soapy water.
- When using the boiling method, only enamel dishes are taken to avoid shade distortion.
- The powder dyes are dosed in accordance with the instructions, the exact dosage will avoid changing color after rinsing the T-shirt in the fixative.
- The fixative can be saline solution (2 tablespoons of salt are taken for 10 liters of cold water) or water with vinegar (it is prepared from 10 liters of cold water and 1 tablespoon of 9 percent vinegar).
A home-dyed T-shirt will look attractive if you follow all the steps of the dyeing procedure exactly. The color fastness on a processed T-shirt directly depends on the quality characteristics of the selected dye.