Painting Embroidery Hoops- 101: TFD The Blog

For those of you who follow me on TIkTok, Instagram, and Facebook you know that I LOVE to paint my hoops!

Since I love it, I thought yall might like it too! So this week I wanted to give you a 101 on painting on fabric/embroidery. In this blog post I am going to address when to paint, paint types, some beginner tips, and preferences/products I have when painting embroidery hoops. 

When to paint? 

Painting embroidery can seem daunting; stitches you can rip out- paint is a little more permanent LOL. While it can be scary to think of a mistake ruining your entire hoop there are ways to mitigate the effect on your embroidery!

The question is: to paint before stitching or after. 

Now call me wild and free and slightly unhinged, but I prefer to stitch first. 

 Pros: 

• The stitching provides a border for the paint
• it feels paint by numbers
• I know where exactly to add the paint
• I feel like I can add more detail

Cons:

• Potential for total embroidery disaster if the paint bleeds too much
• background work looks less fluid
• a lot harder to fix/restart if you monumentally fuck it

This is totally my own preference however, there are also some pros and cons to painting your hoop prior to stitching:

Pros:

• Much more forgiving and fluid
• great if you want a watercolour vibe or if you want a background to your piece painted
• blends really well!
• if you mess up it is way easier to start over/no project really lost
• easier to fix!

Cons: 

• Can be more difficult to get the paint exactly where you want it
• harder to do more detailed pieces if you have trouble seeing the final vision of a piece (no lines to work with)

Well hopefully you have a sense of when you want to paint... now to do the paints!

Paint Types and How I use them:

Now to figure out the kind of paint to use for your vision. When I paint I waffle between three different kinds of paints; acrylic, watercolor, fabric- all have their own pros and cons. 

Watercolour

When I use:

• If I want colours that blend well, a softer look, or are leaning more towards pastel vibes, watercolours are my go-to option. 

Many people in the embroidery community who paint their hoops tend to learn towards watercolour. Yes, it can be a harder medium to use on fabric BUT it looks rad. 

How I use them:

• I prefer to use watercolour either as a blended background (a good amount of water- think traditional watercolour)
• or in a dry brush technique (very little water) for a more pigmented colour

Things to be aware of:

• One thing to note with watercolour- if it gets wet - RIP your project. so be extra careful with this. Watercolour is not permanent necessarily, if it gets caught in rain or wet it can permanently wash you colour out. 
• Also! Watercolor was not built for fabric- the pigment can potentially react with your fabric and discolor over time. 
• I find it is more difficult to layer watercolour (if you are going for bolder looks)

Acrylic Paint

When I use: 

• when I want Big bold colours
• when I want to paint on the bamboo hoops themselves
• when I want some cool textures

How I use them: 

• I use acrylic pain in a couple of ways the first being directly on the bamboo hoop no water or dilution.
• the second way is on the hoop but in a splattered/dabbed effect for texture
• the third way is diluted with some water (not too much) to give it more of a watercolour look with less bleeding than watercolours

Things to be aware of:

• Acrylic is acidic and will discolor your fabric overtime- this is something to be aware of if you want longevity in your hoops. 
• also it takes a bit longer to dry than the other two mediums so factor this into your paint times

Fabric Paint

When I use:

• I use this when I want bold or layered looks
• when I want something that will be super pigmented and stay that way over time

How I use them:

• I am fairly new to using fabric paint but I really love to layer them thickly. 
• I do NOT dilute them and instead just use the paint as is (like with a lot of my acrylic usage)

Things to be aware of:

• I find this dries pretty quick so be aware of that before blending
• most fabric paint needs to be activated after it has been painted using heat- this is what makes it wash safe. 

Beginner Tips: Working with paint and fabric

 You have loads of information about how I like to use paints in embroidery, now some beginner tips on actually doing the thing!

1. Practice! Before I start a project - even though I have been painting hoops for a while - I still try out the techniques I am going to use on what I call a "practice hoop". This is typically a blank hoop with a swatch of the exact fabric I am using for my current project that I practice new paints, techniques, or water levels on to see how it will react. I totally recommend doing this, it has saved several of my hoops. I especially recommend it if you are using a new fabric (each fabric reacts differently) or a new paint brand. 

2. less is more. You can always go bigger on a project but you cannot remove paint as easily. Start with a little bit of whatever you are doing- water, dilution, paint type etc and see how it bleeds, flows, or pigments. Keep adding more until you are at your desired level. 

3. Watercolour- let it dry before adding layers! If you are using watercolour and want to blend/add other colours wait until you previous layer is totally dry. If you add more liquid to an already wet fabric the chances of bleeding and distortion are a lot higher- especially if you want the colour in a specific area rather than the entire hoop. When you do your next layer- don't worry about blending, the water from your next colour/layer will reactivate the previous layer as well. 

4. If the watercolor bleeds too much:  If your project bleeds to much and it bothers you/is not what you were going for. Do not fret. I have saved a couple of pieces by letting it dry completely and then dry brushing watercolour paint of the same colour as the fabric over the bleed. It may take a few layers and it may not totally disappear if it is a darker colour underneath but it will not be as obvious.

My personal preferences

I have talked a little bit about my own preferences in this post; embroidery before painting, when I like to use each paint type, and why I use each- now here are some links to the paints I use!

*DISCLAIMER: I have enjoyed using these paints but they are by no means elite paints- they are definitely beginner and budget friendly, I believe in affordable and accessible crafting. 

Acrylics:

• Budget friendly: $1.50/bottle Deco Art ( purchased from Dollarama) probably found at a Dollar Tree if you are not in Canada or you can find sets of it on Amazon for fairly cheap ($32/12 bottles)
• Better paint but still cheapish: $40 for 15 colours- MEEDAN Acrylic paint set from Amazon

Watercolour:

• Budget friendly: $24 for 42 colours! I used the Meedan Watercolour set for my entire Pride collection. Liked the pigments and how things popped, definitely not the best watercolour set but it did decently and I had loads of colour options. 

Fabric Paint:

• Budget friendly: I am fairly new to fabric paint but had 2 on my list when I was looking to purchase. For $36 I got this 36 set of Mont Marte Signature Fabric Paint I am liking it so far! 
• More Expensive: on my Amazon Wishlist I have these two sets of Jacquard Fabric/textile paints that I would LOVE to try but do not have the funds to dump into- BUT if anyone tries it let me know how it works! $50 for the 8 Pack primary and secondary colours, $48 for the 8 pack earth tones

That's all folks!

If you have any other questions about painting embroidery feel free to drop a comment or reach out to me thread.for.days@gmail.com ! I am always excited to share knowledge and would love to be able to help.

That's it for this week!

Stay weird and wonderful,

~Kass