Here are the basics to get you started:

Mixing Colors: Right out of the bottle Jacquard Textile Colors provides you with 32 gorgeous colors — plenty for many projects. But if you need more you can easily mix the colors to make any color you desire.

Creating Pastels: You can mix #123 White into any other color to create pastels. Try mixing in a little at first and then adding more if you want to increase the effect.

Increasing Transparency: You can increase the transparency of any color by adding #100 Colorless Extender to it. The more you add the more transparent the color will be.

Increasing Transparency & Flowability: You can increase both transparency and flowability by adding up to 25% water. This will give you more of a watercolor effect.

Application: Jacquard Textile Colors can be applied with brushes, stamp pads, squirt bottles, and airbrush. For airbrushing thin with water up to 25%.

Fixing: After drying, Jacquard Textile Colors must be set with heat. There are several ways to do it:

Ironing: This is the best method. Use a dry iron and iron on the reverse side on the appropriate setting for the fabric.

Dryer: Have the dryer on as hot a temperature as the fabric will take for about 35 to 45 minutes.

Cleanup: Promptly clean all tools with warm water.

Do I have to heat set or is there any other way to fix these paints?

You can use Jacquard Airfix to set our acrylic textile paints (Dye-Na-Flow, Textile Colors, Lumiere & Neopaque). Add 1 tsp. per quart and let cure for 24 hours. The Airfix and paint mixture is good for six hours so add it to the paint right before you are going to use it. Use in a well ventilated area.

What is the difference between Dye-Na-Flow, Textile Colors, and Lumiere & Neopaque?

All three are waterbased acrylic paints and they all work together very well. However, each one has its own unique charateristics:

Dye-Na-Flow is a very fluid textile paint that has the consistency of water. It can be used for water color like washes and silk painting techniques.

Textile Colors are medium bodied semi-opaque paints ideal for fabric painting.

Lumiere & Neopaque are light bodied, very flexible paints suitable for various surfaces such as leather, paper, & fabric. The Neopaques are very opaque and excellent for covering dark materials. The Lumiere line is a gorgeous assortment of metallics & pearlescents.

Can I mix Jacquard Textile Colors with Dye-Na-Flow and Lumiere & Neopaque?

Absolutely, all are acrylic paints and they work very well together. Keep in mind that the consistencies of each paint are different, so your resulting colors may be thicker or thinner.

Do you have a paint that will work on synthetic fabrics?

All of our fabric paints work well on synthetics. Our fabric paints lines are: Jacquard Textile Colors - Traditionals & Fluorescents, Dye-Na-Flow, and Lumiere & Neopaque.

Can I thin the Jacquard Textile Colors for airbrushing?

Yes. It can be diluted by up to 25% to pass through an airbrush.

I've followed all the directions for heat setting, but my paints are washing off. What did I do wrong?

Make sure that you are using a dry iron at the correct temperature setting for the fabric. If you don't heat set at a high enough temperature for a long enough time, the paint may not be thoroughly set. Sometimes if you are using a top loading washing machine, it can abrade the paint from the fabric. Pre-washing fabrics before doing any surface treatments to remove any factory sizings may also help.

Is Jacquard Textile Colors dry cleanable?

Yes. All our fabric paints are dry cleanable.

What is the best way to paint fabric covered furniture?

Any of our fabric paints can be used to paint furniture. Depending on what type of effect you want the paint can be brushed, sprayed, squirted, stamped or stenciled onto the cloth. If the furniture will be washed you will need to fix the paint with our Jacquard Airfix. Always do a test on a scrap of fabric or on an inconspicuous place to see if you can get the results you want before tackling the whole piece.

When do you use the Colorless Extender?

Colorless Extender is the medium-bodied clear acrylic base for the Textile Colors. Mix it into any other Textile Color to create transparency without changing the consistency of the paint.

For a transparent metallic shimmer, try adding some of our Pearl-Ex Powdered Pigments to the extender for use on fabric.

Painting a Parasol.pdf (124 Kb)

When fabric painting, you often need the fabric to be stretched or pinned onto a frame. When painting on a parasol, the fabric is already wonderfully stretched for you. Whether it is used to keep the sun of at the beach or as a decorative element in your house, you'll find these cotton umbrellas from Jacquard are fun to paint and addictive. Once you've painted one you'll find yourself hooked!

Leaves Table Runner.pdf (126 Kb)

With a simple pattern and bold color you can brighten up any table! The colors used here are basic, but mixed together the palette is endless. In this project we used Jacquard Textile Paint, but you could also use Dye-Na-Flow, Lumiere, or Neopaque on any fabric. All paints can be mixed together and all heat fix with the same method.

Painting a Beach Chair

Painting a Beach Chair.pdf (145 Kb)

Imagine painting your own beach chair with a beach scene! You can have a lot of fun with store bought furniture that has canvas fabric. By substituting Jacquard's Textile Paints with Dye-Na-Flow, Lumiere, or Neopaque, some different effects could have amazing results. All paints can be mixed together and all heat fix with the same method.

Christmas Chair Cover

This chair cover fits over a typical metal folding chair. The canvas cover can be found through catalog companies or in fabric and craft stores. Also available are covers to go over certain styles of dining chairs. In doing this project, I found that you could stop painting at various points for several different versions of the pattern. If you are doing a whole set of chair covers, you might consider this for a variety of coordinating patterns.