Glue Batik Easter Fabric

I am so thrilled with our first attempt at glue batik.  Batik fabrics are usually created using wax and fabric dyes.  We used a simplified version I found at That Artist Woman which uses blue gel school glue and acrylic paints.  The kids had a fun time making their Easter designs ( spread over two days ) and the end result is really pretty.  After all the artwork pieces were finished, I made them into this really Easy Easter Table Runner.

First, our Easter Egg Glue Batik creations!

Next, the process we used to make them.

Here's what you need:

• Elmer's washable blue gel glue
• white fabric ( I cut up an old pillowcase ~ cotton/poly blend)
• acrylic paints
• waxed paper

 
Here's what to do:
 

1.  Because we were doing Easter eggs, I drew an egg shape on a piece of paper under our fabric to use as a guideline.  You can do that with any shape or design, or just do a freehand design.

2.  Using the glue, outline your shape then fill it in with your pattern of choice.  Wherever there is glue will stay white, so keep that in mind when deciding how thick or thin to make your glue line and what areas to cover.

3.  Once your design is complete, take your fabric off the paper you used as a guideline and put it on waxed paper.  Set aside to dry completely (overnight worked for us)

4.  When the glue has dried, get ready to paint!  I put down pieces of waxed paper, then watered down regular acrylic paints. It was easy to paint on and gave a cool watercolor effect on the fabric.  ( I didn't measure, but I'd say roughly half paint and half water, maybe a little more paint).

He was a little reluctant at first, but ended up really enjoying it.

5.  You can paint right over the dried lines of glue to cover your whole panel.

6.  When finished, set your panel aside and let the paint dry all the way.

Drying outside.

7.  Next, fill the sink or a bucket with warm, almost hot, water.  Soak your fabric pieces, then rub to get the glue off.  You'll see the paint that was on top of the glue come off first, then rub a little more to get all the glue off.  ( I found that the sections that still had glue on them felt slippery, once the glue was off you could feel the difference.  I used an old toothbrush to rub off any stubborn spots of glue. )

Rinsing off the glue and excess paint.

8.  That's it!  Wring out your fabric and hang to dry or pop it in the dryer.  Then use it to make something special.

Isn't it cool?