Marbling On Fabric Using Starch

Fabric marbling is the art of floating paints on top of a thick solution called size manipulating the paints into patterns then transferring the pattern to an object by gently placing the object on top of the solution marbling lets you make your one of a kind quilting or other fabric item.

Marbling on fabric using starch.

Fabric this requires some additional preparation but works well on natural fibers. My very favorite color medium to use in marbled diy projects is probably nail polish. Marble fabric when dry. Wash and dry new fabric to remove any sizing do not use fabric softener.

You can do this the night before. A few weeks ago lucy and i had our first experience marbling paper we both were so enthralled with the activity that we ended up. In the large flat bin prepare the marbling base. Directions for fabric marbling.

Remove the paper from the water bath and place it painted side facing up on newspaper to dry. Here are some of my favorites that i can t wait to try with my little ones. One pan of starch will yield numerous pieces of fabric. Heavily textured fabrics will not show the patterns quite as well.

Let the alum dissolve then soak the fabric for 20 minutes. I continue marbling fabric until the starch solution is no longer deep enough to support paint. You will want to continue with the same or similar colors. Many types of fabric can be used for marbling but for best results use a fabric with a smooth texture and fine weave.

However if you are looking for a fun and even kid friendly marbled technique using shaving cream is the way to go. The trick to adhering the paint to fabric is presoaking the fabric in alum. Here s a video of my 10yo making designs using the pre made marbling kit more info at the bottom of this post since i like to do experiments using non toxic inexpensive ingredients most people have on hand we first tried a method that uses cornstarch to thicken the bottom liquid layer and tempera paint as the dye. Mix 3 tablespoons alum per 1 quart of hot water.

I can t find any methylcellulose to do this the turkish way so i found a simpler way. Add more paint and continue to marble more fabric. Silk is always a great choice because it absorbs color well and often has a. Experiment with different fibers to see what works best with your paints.

Place the paper painted side facing down onto the surface of the water in the tub to remove the starch. For best results allow the marble paper to dry overnight. Hang to completely dry before marbling. Iron out any wrinkles do not use spray starch.

Hold the paper over the starch while the excess drips off. You will also need to add textile medium to the acrylic paint solution. Take full strength sta flo liquid starch and fill a shallow pan a.