Dye-Na-Flow Instructions

Simply apply to pre-washed fabric with a brush, squirt bottle, sponge, or airbrush. Let dry. Iron fabric for 3 minutes on dry setting appropriate for fabric. Wash in cool water with Synthrapol and rinse.

Resist technique:

In the resist technique, lines are drawn on the fabric with Jacquard Water-Based Resist or Jacquard Gutta and the Dye-Na-Flow is applied within these lines. When painted on, the paints will flow and spread on the fabric until it reaches the resist lines. The resist acts as a boundary between colors much like lead in a stained glass window. These islands of color can be blended, highlighted or accented with other colors.

  1. Draw your design with an auto fade pen onto the fabric.
  2. Pour the water-based resist or gutta into a plastic applicator bottle with a metal tip.
  3. Hold the resist bottle like a pencil. Gently squeeze the bottle until the resist begins to flow. It is a good idea to practice on a separate piece of fabric until you get the feeling of drawing smooth, flowing, continuous lines.
  4. Begin drawing your pattern. Move steadily, but not so quickly that you leave gaps in your lines. All lines must be connected or the paint will bleed through the gaps in the resist line.
  5. Once you’ve completed the design, carefully examine the lines. Make sure the resist has penetrated through to the back. Go back and fill in any gaps. Let the resist dry completely. Use a hair dryer to speed drying time.
  6. Mix and apply the paint. Although Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow is available in 30 colors, you can also mix your colors. Using the colors full strength will yield the brightest shades. For less vibrant colors or for watercolor washes, the dyes can be mixed with water up to 25% water
  7. Dip your brush gently into a color. Touch the brush to the fabric about 1/2” from the resist line. The dye will migrate the rest of the way. Paint all areas inside the resist lines. For large areas, work quickly painting the color from corner to corner. Always work wet to wet. Never go over a dry area.
  8. After you have finished your piece, let dry completely. Heat set according to instructions.
Salt Technique:

A beautiful starburst affect can be achieved by sprinkling salt over the fabric while the Dye-Na-Flow is still wet.

  1. Paint, squirt or sponge the Dye-Na-Flow on the fabric in an all over pattern.
  2. Sprinkle the salt onto the fabric. The salt should be applied immediately while the fabric is still very wet. The salt crystals will begin to soak up the dye as it dries.
  3. Let the salt sit on the fabric until the paints are dry. Brush the salt off of the fabric.
  4. Heat set the fabric according to the instructions.
Sun Printing:

Make beautiful ghost-like images on fabric with simple found objects, leaves or paper cutouts. An easy, fun technique for kids and adults!

  1. Using a brush thoroughly wet down the silk hoop fabric with clean water.
  2. Apply Dye-Na-Flow onto the wet fabric.
  3. While the fabric and paints are wet, arrange the paper cutouts, leaves and other items on the surface of the fabric. The closer in contact the object is with the fabric, the sharper your image will be. You may have to weigh down some objects so that they don’t blow away.
  4. Set the fabric in the sun. (Depending upon the size of your fabric you may want to lay the fabric out in the sun before placing your objects on it. Just be careful not to let the fabric dry.)
  5. Leave the fabric out in the sun with the objects on it for an hour or more. Remove the objects and you will see a lighter image in the shape of the object.
  6. Heat set the fabric according to the instructions.
  7. Wash in cool water with Synthrapol and rinse.

Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow

FAQ (frequently asked questions)

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 Dye-Na-Flow with Lumiere, Neopaque, & Textile Colors?

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, Dye-Na-Flow, and Lumiere & Neopaque.

Can I thin the Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow for airbrushing?

Yes and unlike our other fabric paints it does not need to be diluted.

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 Dye-Na-Flow 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.

Here are our Dye-Na-Flow instructions in a printer friendly, downloadable pdf document.