Fabric Printing: Craft Project for Kids

Marion Abrams and Hilary Emerson Lay

With this easy fabric printing project, you can design your own patterns and make your mark on T-shirts, pillowcases, or cloth of any kind!

Photo © Andrew Greto Photography, excerpted from *Art Sparks*

Have you ever tried fabric printing? You can print on just about any kind of fabric. Try making something new for your house or decorate a T-shirt that you can wear.

What You’ll Need

Scrap paper or newspaper
Styrofoam trays*
Scissors
Masking tape
Acrylic paint or fabric paint in assorted colors and paintbrushes, 1 for each paint color
Paper plates, 1 for each paint color
Large piece of plain fabric, such as a pillowcase or a T-shirt

*FYI Sometimes vegetables and meat at the grocery store come in Styrofoam trays. If you want to reuse a tray that held meat, wash it thoroughly with soap and hot water before using it in this project.

FABRIC PRINTING TIP
If you want to wash your printed fabric many times, use fabric paint. You can find fabric paint at an art supply or craft store, and follow the bottle instructions for how to use and wash the paint.

Step 1. Cover your work space with scrap paper. Cut some simple shapes from a Styrofoam tray. Tape and pinch pieces of masking tape to make little handles on the backs of each shape. Squares, rectangles, ovals, and zigzags are good shapes to make.

Step 2. Lay your fabric out flat. Pour a small amount of each paint color onto a separate paper plate. Holding your shapes by their handles, brush them with paint and stamp them onto the fabric. You can print random designs or make a pattern. Let your fabric dry before moving it.

Learn More

Art Sparks

by Marion Abrams

by Hilary Emerson Lay

Every kid can be an artist with this book as their guide! Using basic art supplies — from paint, markers, paper, and glue to household finds like cardboard boxes and fabric scraps — children aged 6 and up learn that as long as they can imagine it, they can create it. Curated by two art educators with decades of experience, this rich collection of 53 arts and crafts activities offers up a ton of freeform fun, from Doodlemonsters and Painted Animal Rocks to Paper Bead Jewelry and Nature Weaving. Projects vary in difficulty so there’s something for a wide range of ages and abilities, and many can be completed in under an hour. Each project featured in the book has been kid-made (and kid-approved!), and colorful photos of the finished pieces will ignite a creative spark that inspires budding makers to express their imagination, humor, and individuality through art.

$16.95

$22.95 CAD

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Marion Abrams

About the Author

Marion Abrams founded the Summer Art Barn in Hatfield, Massachusetts, in 1989. She has a BFA in art education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has taught art in a variety of public and private schools for over 45 years. Abrams teaches art workshops at local libraries and schools, and volunteers at senior centers and the local food bank. Learn more about her and the Summer Art Barn at http://www.summerartbarn.com.

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Hilary Emerson Lay

About the Author

Hilary Emerson Lay has a BFA from Emerson College in writing, literature, and publishing, with a concentration in children’s writing and illustration. Lay managed The Spirit of ’76 Bookstore in Marblehead, Massachusetts for ten years. She is a working artist, the founder of Bubo Arts Collective, and the assistant director of the Summer Art Barn. Her artwork can be found online at http://www.hilaryemersonlay.com.

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