Just Paint It: Apron and Tea Towels with DecoArt Ink Effects

I love trying new products. Love it! I read about DecoArt Ink Effects quite a few months ago and I was intrigued by the claim that you paint your design on plain paper and iron it on to fabric. When I was offered to actually test them? Yes, please.

Ink Effects come in 12 delicious colors, plus they gave me a basecoat to use on fabric that is more than 30% cotton.

Each bottle cap is marked with a close representation to the actual color transfer.

See what I mean? You need to really check the cap for the final color result.

Okay, ready to see how to use this cool stuff? Alrighty then!

The feature that intrigued me the most is that you can transfer your painted pattern more than once. To me, that meant holidays and gift-giving.

I already had this canvas apron and some tea towels, which I thought would make the perfect gift combination for someone who loves to bake.

Supplies Needed

Fabric to transfer painted pattern
Ink Effects Basecoat for fabric containing 30% cotton or more
Pattern
Blank white paper (I used regular copy paper)
Ink Effects colors
Paint brushes (I used #12 & #6 flats, #4 round, and liner for detailing)
Iron
Cloth to protect ironing board

Painting Your Pattern with Ink Effects

It’s really simple to paint with Ink Effects. The one thing I would recommend, however, is testing your colors on a sample first so your final project will have the colors you want. You can also mix the colors to make more, if you want.

My sample sunflower

You can draw your own pattern, use a coloring page, a stencil, or of course download my patterns at the bottom of this post.

For the pie crust I applied brown, but sparingly.

This is after one coat. Allow at least 30 minutes in between each coat.

And this is after two coats with outlining. Everything was outlined in black (scary, I know) except the sunflower petals which I outlined in brown. Now let this dry for another 45 minutes before transferring.

With the 2nd coat I noticed a sheen to the colors, which gives you a richer transferred color, I believe.

Painting Letters with Ink Effects

For years I’ve searched for an easy way to hand letter. I’m not kidding. I’ve tried nearly everything. Ink effects is definitely my first choice if I’m painting on fabric. (Believe me, I’ll be testing it out on painted canvas. Just in case.)

Since you place the painted pattern face down on the fabric, you need to print out the letters in reverse.

Then take a deep breath, and a teensie-weensie liner brush and go to it.

Oh, you know I’ve got some tips, don’t you? Of course I do.

Rotate the paper in quarter turns, painting each letter in small sections.
If you’re right handed, paint curves from left to right.
If you’re left handed, paint from right to left.
Keep your brush moist. Rinse frequently in water, dab excess off on paper towel, and pick up a very small amount of paint.
Once you’ve loaded paint on the brush, roll the brush on a palette or foam plate to get the smallest point possible.

I won’t lie – it takes a steady hand and practice, practice, practice, for any type of paint. I’ve already put hand lettering on my To Do list for videos. But mainly it’s just one of those things that takes practice.

Transfer Your Pattern To Fabric

Protect your ironing board with some fabric. A drop cloth works nicely. Just sayin’.

Set your iron to the hottest setting available with NO STEAM.

Place your design face down on the fabric and cover it with a piece of blank paper to protect your iron.

Iron for 30 – 60 seconds, keeping the iron moving so no steam hole marks show up on your fabric.

That’s it!

Okay, a couple of notes on my design. I didn’t transfer the lettering at the same time as the pie and apple. I was afraid one of the papers would move and smear the transfer. In retrospect, I probably could’ve taped the sheets together but adhesive tape + hot iron? Probably not a great idea.

I wound up making a separate pattern for just the apple and sunflower. If I had thought ahead (who, me?) I would’ve just painted them and transferred them to the tea towels. Oh well. Now you have two patterns to choose from!

Keep in mind there are a few factors that will affect your project outcome –

The number of coats of Ink Effects on your paper
The type of fabric (I wouldn’t recommend over 30% cotton)
The temperature of your iron and how long you iron the transfer

I absolutely love DecoArt Ink Effects and can’t wait to try another project. I just need some more basecoat. But no worries, Ink Effects will soon be available at JoAnn’s!