Fabulous Fabric Crafts with Dylon Paints

I don't need to remind you what a HUGE fan of Dylon products I am.  I'd happily play with them all day long.

I was recently offered some fabric paints for Christmas crafting, and although I'd used them before when Ruby created her own TShirts, I was keen to try something a bit more grown up this time.*

*read: I wasn't sharing.

I wanted to try and be as creative as possible, so let me know what you think.  Here are some decorations I made for Ruby's tree using the Dylon 3D paint to add texture and interest (silver glitter paint and deep pink pearl paint).

I made them using felt table mats, and simply cut out the pieces with scissors.  I managed to get a set of 2 placemats at a knock down price - these were in all the department stores this year, but clearly didn't sell well so you can get them very cheaply (who'd have thought that place mats you can't wash or wipe would be a flop?!).  I bought mine in BHS but I've seen them in John Lewis and Debenhams.  Of course you could use ordinary felt and cut shapes yourself, but I like the thickness and firmness of this felt, plus it's a whole lot easier to cut out shapes that are already there.

The paint is incredibly simple to use.  Just squeeze it out just above the surface of the fabric - a bit like icing a cake.  After a while of doing these my hands did begin to shake though!

Once dried I threaded some clear nylon thread to hang (my weapon of choice for tree decorations as it's very strong and almost invisible).

I love the way they move gently on the tree, and by adding detail on the front and back, you get a real 3D feel.

Myself and Ruby LOVE the tree in her room. I know she's lucky to have one, but every single decoration is either handmade or from a charity shop.

Next I tried out the liquid fabric paint.  I was sent a gorgeous shade of turquoise and wanted to incorporate it into my living room decorations.  However, being hopeless with a paintbrush, and having no artistic ability whatsoever, I decided the best way to go would be stamping!

I cut a simple heart shape from a dish sponge, and stamped onto some hessian.

A triangle piece of sponge created little Christmas trees.  These have now been incorporated into bunting and tree decorations and some will be stuck to luggage labels as gift tags.

Here it is in the bunting - this is from a School of Craft kit that I adapted.

And made into tree ornaments. Two squares simply stitched together, use a frayed length of hessian stitched between the two pieces for a hanging loop.  I like the rustic handmade look of these.

You could use this paint on all sorts of fabrics and if it's an item which will be laundered like clothing or soft furnishings, you can fix the colour by simply ironing with a hot iron.

There are no end of possibilities for Dylon fabric paints - you could decorate your Christmas table linen and napkins, personalise shopping bags and cushions, add names to Christmas stockings - the only limit is your imagination.

I've done one more thing with the paint to show you, but I should point out that Dylon customer services quite clearly advised me not to!  I didn't listen though (does that make me a craft rebel).

I've been upcycling a jumper into lots of different things (more on that later) and wanted to make a hot water bottle cover as a Christmas present.  I thought it would be nice to put a motto on the front, and as you just squeeze the paint out, it's easy to hand write, just as though you were using a pen.

Of course, it makes sense that as the 3D paint is only washable at 30 degrees, you shouldn't really use it with a hot water bottle that contains water at nearly 100 degrees.  Just so you know.

I did a trial run before stitching together and laid my fabrics on top of a filled hot water bottle, to see if there were any untoward effects.  There weren't, but bear in mind that I have 3 thick layers of wool material between the bottle and the paint.

Anyway, I think it was worth the risk - I love it!

Dylon fabric paints are available from all good haberdashery stores and branches of John Lewis, or check here for your nearest stockists.

What do you think? Have I inspired you?

Sponsored post: I was sent a selection of fabric paints to sample however no other reward was given.  The opinions expressed here are my own.