Tutorial: How to paint on Burlap

I have been seeing a lot of burlap material around on Pinterest lately and I have acquired some from an op shop. I am on the hunt for great and amazing things to do with it but for now I thought I would show you how easy it is to paint an image onto your material to jazz it up a little.

• Piece of burlap fabric
• Stencil to fit onto fabric
• Newspaper for protecting surfaces
• A paintbrush
• Textile paint (If you wont be washing your fabric then normal acrylic paint will do just fine)

Step 1: Lay out your newspaper and place the burlap on top. Choose whichever side you would like to have the image on as they look slightly different. 

Step 2: Place the stencil onto the burlap. Make sure it is centered (if that is what you're going for).

 Step 3: Dip your paintbrush into the paint but try not to get a huge blob. You want the paint to be applied evenly. 

Step 4: Hold down the edges of the stencil as you paint over it. This will help stop paint from bleeding through.

Step 5: Finish painting inside the stencil. It doesn't matter if you get paint on the outside of the cardboard.

Step 6: Carefully remove the stencil like you would remove a band-aid. This will stop any excess paint hiding underneath the stencil from making patches that shouldn't be there.

Step 7: If you choose, fray the edges by pulling off the strands of material closest to each edge until the desired look is achieved. 

Step 8: Admire up close.

Step 9: Step back and admire your work. 

Additional tips:

• If you will be washing your fabric, follow the instructions on the textile paint and and iron to seal.

• If you are doing an intricate stencil, practice on a sheet of computer paper first to get used to how the paint spreads.

• You do not need to use a stencil, you can freehand paint a design but I find it harder to get clean, crisp edges that way.

I hope this helps, and feel free to ask me any questions. Happy painting!