Shiva Paintstik Primer

Shiva® Paintstik Primer

This document contains excerpts from the book, Paintstiks on Fabric: Simple Techniques, Fantastic Results

by Shelly Stokes. For detailed instructions on all aspects of using Shiva® Artist's Paintstiks® on fabric, please refer to that book.

Get Ready

Prewash your fabric to remove any finishes. Use a plain detergent with no bleach or softener additives. Do not use softener or dryer sheets.
Press fabric to remove any wrinkles.
Wear old clothes or cover your clothing with an apron or smock.
Cover your work surface to protect it from unwanted paint.

Prepare your paintstiks

Before you begin to paint, you must remove the protective skin from the end (or side) of the paintstik.
Remove the skin by "pinching" it off with a paper towel, or carefully peeling it away with a small, sharp knife.
Wrap peelings in newspaper or paper toweling and throw them away.
Wipe the open portion of the paintstik with a paper towel as you work to remove any bits of skin that come loose as you are working.

Drying Time and Heat Setting

Paintstik color generally dries to the touch in 24 hours, but it usually takes several days for the paint to dry thoroughly. After it dries, you must heat set the paint to make it permanent. This can be done with an iron or a clothes dryer.
Stenciled images can be heat set after 24 hours. Rubbings should dry for 3-5 days, but can be heat set sooner if you take appropriate precautions.

To heat set with an iron:

Place your fabric paint-side down on a sheet of grease-proof paper, such as parchment paper or brown kraft paper. Set your iron to a temperature appropriate for the fabric and press each section of the fabric for 10-15 seconds. (Press, don't iron.)

If you are working with delicate fabric, lay a pressing cloth over the fabric before you begin heat setting the paint.

To heat set in a clothes dryer:

After (and only after) the paintstik color has dried for the recommended number of days, place fabric in a hot clothes dryer for 30 minutes.

To heat set in a hurry:

You can heat set paintstik color without waiting for the paint to cure properly, but you must take several precautions. Heat set in a well ventilated area, and make sure you protect your ironing surface from oil stains.
Visit the Cedar Canyon Textiles website for more heat setting ideas.

Don't dry clean

Do not dry clean fabric embellished with paintstik color.