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Painting bed sheets is great for making backdrops, creating large banners, or just adding designs to make them unique. If you want to try customizing your sheets, you can easily apply textile paints to personalize them. Lay the sheets in your work area so you have a flat painting surface and set up your supplies. When you apply the paint, you can use many methods to achieve different effects on the sheets. Once you finish painting them, make sure to let them dry before you set the paint so the colors don't fade.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Prepping the Sheets and Workspace

Wash and dry the sheets before painting them to prevent shrinkage. Put the sheets in a washing machine and set it on the cycle with the warmest water. Add detergent as you normally would and let the wash cycle run. After that, put your sheets in the drier and run it on the hottest setting. Allow the sheets to dry completely before painting on them.^[1]
- You can paint on any sheets or comforters that you want, but the paint will adhere better to higher thread counts since there's more fabric.
- Running the sheets through the hottest cycles will pre-shrink them before you paint so your designs don't get distorted if you wash them later on.
Lay the sheet flat in your work area so it doesn't have any wrinkles. Find a workspace that's large enough where you can spread out the sheet so it stays flat. Put your hand in the middle of the sheet and smooth it out toward the edges to get rid of any wrinkles on the surface. Keep the sheet stretched tight while you're painting, or else ut could distort your painted designs.^[2]
- If the sheet still has wrinkles, iron them out before you paint.
- If you don't have room to spread out the entire sheet, you can fold up the areas of the sheet where you aren't applying paint to save space.
Secure a piece of cardboard behind the section you're painting with clothespins. Use a flat piece of cardboard that's larger than the area you're painting and slide it underneath the sheet. Pull the sheet tight to the edges of the cardboard and clip clothespins every around the cardboard so it doesn't slide around. Make sure there aren't any wrinkles on the sheet, or else the design will look distorted.^[3]
- The cardboard provides a flat painting surface and prevents the paint from bleeding through the sheet.
Put the textile paint you want to use on a palette. Textile paints are acrylics that specially formulated to stay flexible when they dry so the sheets don't get stiff. Place coin-sized amounts of the colors you want to use on an artist's palette so there's about of space between them. Keep the colors separated so you don't accidentally mix the shades together.^[4]
- You can buy textile paints and a palette from your local craft store.
- If you want to make the colors on your palette lighter, mix them with white paint until you're happy with the tint. If you want to make your colors darker, combine them with black paint instead.
Fill a bowl or glass with clean water so you can rinse your brushes. Make sure the bowl or glass you use is clean before filling it up. Use cold water from your sink and set the container within reach of your work surface. That way, you can easily rinse your brushes when you switch paint colors.
- Keep a few paper towels near the water so you can dry your brushes afterward.

[Edit]Applying the Paint

Use flat- and pointed-tip brushes to paint freehand designs on sheets. If you want to make thick lines or apply broad strokes, opt for brushes that have flat tips. For more detailed lines, choose thin pointed-tip brushes. Dip the bristles of your paintbrush so there's an even coat of paint on the tip. Hold the brush like a pencil and set the bristles on the sheets. Slowly pull the brush in the direction you want to apply a thin layer of paint.^[5]
- The size of the brush you use depends on how large you want the brushstrokes. Get a brush set from a craft store that has multiple sizes so you can experiment with them.
- Outline your design with a pencil or chalk before you paint if you want to have a guide to follow.
- Textile paints are permanent as soon as you apply them to fabric, so be careful not to get any in places where you don't want paint.
- Try painting flowers or trees if you want to make a natural feeling backdrop.
Apply paint with a sponge brush if you want to stencil the bed sheets. Lay your stencil flat on the sheet and secure it in place with masking tape. Dip the end of a sponge brush in the color you want to use until there's a thin, even layer of paint on it. Starting from the outer edges of the design, hold the sponge brush vertically and dab it straight up and down on the stencil. Work toward the center of the stencil to evenly apply the paint on the sheets. Once you've filled the stencil in, take it off the sheet immediately to prevent color-bleed.^[6]
- You can buy stencils from your local craft store or make your own.
- Don't apply the paint in thick layers since it will take longer to dry and the edges may look messy.
- Painting with a stencil works great if you want to make bed sheet sets with matching designs.
- Try stenciling letters if you're making a banner or a backdrop so all of the writing is legible.
Cover large areas with paint using a rubber brayer. A brayer looks similar to a paint roller, except it's made of hard rubber rather than fabric. Roll the brayer in the paint you want to apply until it has a thin, tacky layer on the rubber. Start at the top of the sheet and roll the brayer in long strokes across the sheet. Overlap each stroke by so you can cover the sheet completely. Reapply paint as it starts to get thin on the brayer so you don't leave any spotty areas.
- You can buy a rubber brayer from a craft store or online.
- Using a brayer works great if you want to create colored backdrops from your sheets.
- Try adding horizontal stripes of color going from a dark black shade to a yellow or orange if you want to paint a sunrise or sunset.
Try fabric spray paint to get light, even coverage on the sheets. Look for a set of fabric spray paint at your local craft store or online. Hold the spray paint container about above the sheet and press down on the button to spray it. Use short bursts of paint as opposed to holding the button down so you can get more even coverage. If you want the paint to be more concentrated, move the spray paint closer to the sheet.^[7]
- Avoid using regular spray paint since it can cause the sheet to stiffen after it dries.
- Fabric spray paint works great for filling in stencils or making ombre patterns for backdrops.
Wet the fabric with a spray bottle to give the paints a watercolor effect. Mist the sheet with clean water until it's slightly damp to the touch. Dip your paintbrush in the paint and spread it over the wet section of the sheet. The paint will look more transparent and move around on the fabric surface easier to create a painterly look for your design.^[8]
- Sprinkle salt on the paint while it's still wet to add interesting textures to your design. The salt will absorb some of the water and leave cloudy patterns of paint.
- Try making clouds on a blue backdrop if you want something that feels relaxing.
- Use a variety of colors and paint them in random sizes and shapes to make an abstract design.
Create a splatter effect by flicking the paint off of a toothbrush. Get a toothbrush with stiff bristles and dip them in the paint color you want to apply. Hold the toothbrush so the bristles face the sheet and flick your wrist forward to splatter the paint. Keep the toothbrush close to the sheet if you want a tight splatter pattern, or keep it further away for a wider pattern. Rinse the toothbrush off whenever you change colors.^[9]
- Don't use the toothbrush for anything other than painting.
- This works well if you want to add random designs or accents to your bedsheet.
Soak the sheet in a bucket with water and paint if you want a wrinkled pattern. Choose a bucket that's large enough to hold the entire bed sheet and fill it with water. Put a coin-sized amount of fabric paint in the bucket and stir it to combine it with the water. Bundle up the sheet and completely submerge it in the water for 2–3 hours. Take the sheet out of the water and wring it out so it can dry. After about 1 week, unfold the sheets to see the pattern left by the paint.
- This method works well if you want to make an interesting pattern for a backdrop.
- While the sheet soaks in the water, paint will gather in the wrinkles and make them darker.

[Edit]Caring for Your Sheets

Allow the paint to dry for 24 hours. Leave the sheet undisturbed when you're finished painting so it has time to dry on the fabric. Keep the painted section of the sheet flat so the colors don't run or drip. After 24 hours, lightly tap the paint with your finger to check that it's dry to the touch. If not, leave the paint to dry for another hour before checking again.^[10]
- Check the drying times listed on the paints you used since they may vary.
Hold an iron over the paint to heat-set it. Heat-setting prevents the textile paints from running or fading when you wash your sheets. Turn an iron on to medium or high heat and keep it at least over the painted surface. Move the iron over all of the painted surfaces for about 3–5 minutes so the paints bond to the fabric.^[11]
- You don't have to heat-set pure acrylic paints if you used them. However, if you mixed textile medium with the acrylics, you still need to.
Wash your sheets on a gentle cycle to help preserve the color. Select the gentlest cycle on your washing machine and use detergent and fabric softener as normal. After the wash, choose a low heat setting on your drier and use the setting labeled "Delicates" or "Gentle" to keep the colors intact.^[12]
- If possible, hand-wash the sheets and hang them on a clothesline to dry. That way you don't risk ruining them in your machine.
Keep the sheets out of direct sunlight to prevent fading. Long exposure to sunlight and UV rays can break down the pigments in the paints, so the colors may fade. Place your sheets away from a window or out of lights so the designs last longer. If you want to use the sheets outside, like if you were using it as a banner, keep it folded up as often as possible so the sun doesn't damage the paints.^[13]
- If the colors on your sheets fade, you can always paint over them again.

[Edit]Tips

Wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty just in case you get paint on them.

[Edit]Warnings

Textile paint is permanent once it's applied, so try not to get it on anything else.
Don't use oil paints when you paint your bed sheets since they won't dry as well.