Hand-Stamped Heart Cardigan – Tutorial!

I have never done a hand-stamped fabric project – until now!

I had a cardigan that was just so-so (I think I bought at a thrift store), and so I figured it was the perfect thing to use to experiment with hand stamping onto fabric.  I have been LOVING aqua and red for Valentine’s, so I knew the cardigan would be the perfect addition to a Valentine outfit.

Anyways, here’s the before and after – see, it’s just that extra “fun” now!

The big debate was whether to stamp just the front or do the whole cardigan (back and sleeves included) – – everyone weighed in with their opinion on FB.  I was undecided, so I started with the front – – by the time I finished up the front, my stamp was being more saturated and used up and less “crisp” so I just called it good instead of making a new stamp to finish the back and sleeves.  And plus I wasn’t sure how I’d do the sleeves – I think I would need to be wearing it, right?  Anyways, here’s a tutorial of how I did it:

First, cut a small heart out of felt.  I cut several in case I needed extra.  I used 2 to make my stamp stand up enough.

Hot glue the 2 layers of felt shape together.  And hot glue that to the bottom of a block.  This will give you a nice grip on the stamp (don’t worry – the kids won’t miss one block)

Mark your fabric or cardigan or whatever you’re stamping in the places you want.  I used chalk and twisted it to get it to mark on my cardigan.  Mine are spaced 2 inches apart and then they alternate each column, so they’re diagonally only 1 inch apart (columns are 1 inch apart) – hope that makes sense.

 Next up put a piece of cardboard under it and grab your paint. I used Tulip “soft” fabric paint – it’s by the puff paint and stuff in the store.

Dip your stamp into the paint and try it out a few times on the cardboard or paper to get the hang of it – then jump right in! (this photo is from my instargram feed)

That’s it!  My hearts aren’t stiff at all.  I haven’t washed it yet so I can’t comment on that, but it seems like it will hold up just fine.  I’m super excited to pair this with my red dress for Sunday – but I thought you might need a jump on the project so I actually put the outfit together just for you, a little early.  And it was raining – but the umbrella was red so it’s a win-win.

Have you ever stamped any fabric??  I’d love to hear about it (maybe I’ll put together a round-up post, so if you’ve done it and posted about it, leave me a link).  If you haven’t tried it – – go for it!!