Can You Use Acrylic Paints On Felt?
Acrylic paint is one of the best paints to create customized designs and make anything more colorful. As acrylic paint has the unique characteristics of attaching itself to different surfaces you will find it quite easy to apply.
But acrylic paint is not invincible. You cannot use it on every type of surface. Especially if you need to work with that surface on a regular basis. Can you use acrylic paint on felt?
Felt is popular for creating warm clothes, blankets, and many other useful products. Most of the time, you will not find these products as much customizable as you want. In those cases, the freedom of changing the outlook of the product using acrylic paint can give you a lot more freedom. You can use acrylic paint on felt fabric under different circumstances.
Let’s find out how acrylic paint may work on felt fabric.
Can You Use Acrylic Paint On Felt?
Yes, you can use acrylic paint on felt fabric. There are multiple types of acrylic paint that you can use in different circumstances.
First, understand what purpose your paint will fulfill and how it will be used. Depending on the usability of your product, you can choose the appropriate paint for your felt product.
You can use the following to design on felt –
- Artist-grade acrylic paint
- Student-grade acrylic paint
- Acrylic fabric paint
- Acrylic ink or acrylic
- Marker
You can use one or multiple acrylic types of acrylic paint in one project. It is better not to use heavy body acrylic paint if you do not intend to keep the felt fabric in a fixed form.
Does Acrylic Paint Stay to Felt?
Yes, acrylic paint stays on felt for a long time. Acrylic paint is a suitable paint for multiple surfaces. You can use these paints on paper, boards, and even on fabric.
Acrylic paint creates a strong bond with most surfaces. The felt fabric has an affinity to bond with paints. Whether you are using a natural or synthetic felt, with proper procedures and time you can have a long-lasting paint.
As most of the felt products will need to be bent or folded, it is better to use thin layers of paint so that they do not peel off or create scrapes.
What Kind Of Paint Is Suitable For Felt Fabric?
You can use different types of paints on felt fabric. Some felt fabrics can observe paint wale where weather when some are not that prone to absorb paint.
Fabric paints are most suitable to apply on felt fabric. You can also use inks and pigments with a fabric binder to create fabric paint and apply that to your felt fabric.
If you want a short-term result, you can use watercolor or oil pastel as well. But these paints will wash away when you wash your felt fabric.
How To Paint Your Felt Fabric With Acrylic Paint?
Select Your Felt Fabric And Paint
There are different types of felt fabric. Choose which fabric you want to paint on and get familiar with it before starting your project. You also need to choose a good quality water-based acrylic paint that you can use easily on felt.
Prepare Your Paint
For preparing your acrylic paint, you will need to determine how you want the paint to be and how to apply it to your fabric.
- If you want to create a dye bath, you will need to mix your paint with a lot of water. You can dip the fabric into the dye but paint it thoroughly.
- If you want a more saturated color and design a definite pattern without the paint bleeding, you will need heavier paint and use less water to mix it.
Dip Your Fabric Into The Paint
Now as your paint is ready, you can apply this on your felt fabric. You do not need to apply any primer if you do not want your paint to stay only on the surface.
Acrylic paint can seep through felt fabric naturally. But if you want to use a primer to paint on a specific area, you can do that as well. The primer will help you to keep the paint in a specific area.
Remove Excess Paint
After you are satisfied with the color, keep the fabric hanging on the dye bath. Let the excess water leaves the fabric. You can rest the fabric on the corner of the dye bath for a few minutes.
Dry The Fabric
After you get rid of the excess paint, dry the felt fabric properly. Place the fabric on a flat surface and let it air dry.
Once the fabric is dried, the paint pigment will be absorbed, and it will last for a while. If you want a darker shade, repeat the process to make the color more saturated.
What You Must Not Do While Painting On Felt Fabric?
Painting on felt fabric is a little different than other fabrics. As felt fabric can be made with various materials, you will need to be careful about what type of felt you are using.
If you are using a synthetic felt fabric, it will be better to not use any synthetic paint on it and make sure that your paint gets absorbed.
While mixing the paint, make sure that there is no cluster of paint left in the mixture. If the paint does not dissolve, you need to get that paint out of your mixture using a fabric.
Suggested Materials You May Need
Let’s make your painting journey with felt fabric more fruitful using the appropriate products. Here are some of the best resources to make your painting felt with acrylic paint effective.
#1 Caliart Acrylic Paint Set : (Recommended Acrylic Paint)
For painting on felt fabric, you will need good quality water-based acrylic paint. You can not use oil-based or heavy acrylic paint. This high-quality Caliart Acrylic Paint Set is perfect for mixing it with water and controlling the density of your paint.
This paint will not get clustered and create an even painting. You will be able to use it easily and spread it through your fabric. You can use this for long-lasting designs as well.
The price of this paint is also very reasonable. So, you will not need to stress over the financial responsibility.
#2 AROIC Acrylic Paint Brush Set : (Recommended Paint Brush)
How detailed your design needs to be depends on the type of fabric you’re using. These AROIC Acrylic Paint Brush Set will help you to make almost any design.
You will find brushes for different sizes to create different designs and apply various amounts of paint in one go. The nylon brushes are easy to clean and can hold a significant amount of paint.
So, you don’t need to worry about how the brushes will perform once you get used to the structure and hold of the brushes. They will be the best assistance for you to create beautiful and creative designs.
Over To You
Painting on felt fabric can be troublesome if you don’t know how to do it. You will need to choose your paint and method carefully.
What type of paint is the most suitable for felt? Can you use acrylic paints on felt? I have tried to insert these questions to make your journey more comfortable and save you time and resources. Make your felt piece more beautiful with acrylic paint.
Further Readings
How to Dye Felt with Acrylic Paint
Can You Use Acrylic Paint On Felt?
Painting on Felt
How to Paint Felt
What is Felt Fabric: Properties, How its Made and Where
