Are you looking at adding an African hue to your living room without investing in too many changes? Then, Gharpedia has brought you the perfect solution: a DIY project for painting cushion covers in African style. Continue reading to learn more…
Painting Cushion Cover Project
This is a DIY project of painting a cushion cover; it does not have to be professional or even match those standards. So be easy and enjoy this fun activity. Moreover, the charm of African textile patterns lies in the slight irregularities that are so much a part of the process of printing by hand.
This type of pattern would usually be stamped into the fabric using a carved wooden block, but the one showcased in this blog is produced with a half potato. Potato printing has a liberating, youthful quality. You may have enjoyed doing it as a child, and it is particularly well-suited to the African style.
As Francis J. Kafka (1959) mentioned in his book ‘Batik, Tie Dyeing, Stenciling, Silk Screen, Block Printing – The Hand Decoration of Fabrics,” the water in the potato prevents the paint from saturating the block. Hence it proves to be an excellent medium for this use.”
The African pattern is quite versatile; here, it is used in an all-over design for a cushion, but it could be used to make a border for curtains or a throw.
A potato stamp has a limited life but can be saved overnight in a jug of cold water and dried well before being used again.
Things Required For DIY Painting Cushion Cover
- Plain Cushion covers to paint
- Fabric printing ink
- Felt-tipped pen
- Iron
- Kitchen paper
- Large potato
- Lino cutting tools (scoop and V-shape gouges)
- Newspaper
- Pattern
- Plate
- Ruler
- Scalpel
- Sharp kitchen knife
- Small foam roller
Imprinting Template
Draw the template to fit the surface of your halved potato. Keep the pattern of the template simple so that it can be easily transferred and carved on the potato half. Here, we have used a simple stripe pattern, but you can go for a heart shape, a triangle, a Christmas tree or any other shape that is easy to draw and cut.
The Step-By-Step Process
1. After collecting everything mentioned above, now is the time to get your hands dirty and paint your cushion cover. Cut the potato in half using the kitchen knife, and draw the motif onto the surface with the felt-tipped pen.
2. Cut around the motif edges using the scalpel, and then scoop away the entire background using lino-cutting tools.
3. Put a newspaper inside the cushion cover for the purpose of padding. Place the printing ink on the plate and use the roller to coat the potato stamp. Stamp once or twice onto kitchen paper to check the print. Then re-coat the stamp and stamp it onto the fabric.
4. Stamp the pattern in rows and let it dry. Once the imprints have dried, iron over them to fix the ink, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
On a parting note, do remember that the irregularities of hand printing are an essential ingredient of the African style, so ensure that the result is not too perfect! With this, your DIY project of painting cushion cover ends. We hope you had fun doing the cushion cover painting activity. For any queries, feel free to write to us, and for more such amazing DIY projects, check out the below links.
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Author Bio
Huta Raval – An English Literature and Journalism Topper, Huta Raval has graduated from the L D Arts College, Ahmedabad. Post serving for 23 years in the NBFC and Public Library Sectors her desire for ‘writing the unwritten’ brought her to the creative field of content writing. Her clientele comprises of NGOs, Blogging Platforms, Newspapers, Academic Institutions, et al.