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While I was in the process of making a new book cover, I started experimenting with making rusted fabric using wonder under fusible webbing which I’d painted. Wonder Under is fusible webbing with a paper backing, and because I’ve used painted wonder under before, I knew that it would probably turn out quite well. And in fact it did!
This is what wonder under looks when it’s wet with paint. You can see that the paint has penetrated the fusible webbing through to the paper backing and caused it to pucker resulting in ridges where the paint puddles.
To get the right “rusted” color, I used a combination of Golden fluid acrylic paints.
Once the painted wonder under has dried, you can then iron it onto a piece of fabric such as muslin. After it was ironed on, the only thing I didn’t quite like was the areas where the wonder under didn’t attach to the fabric and the muslin showed through. The color of the muslin looked a little too white.
So I painted it over so that it blended a little better and the results were quite perfect. It really does look like rust, doesn’t it?
I did a couple more samples. With this one, I didn’t wet it enough so there weren’t very many “rusted” areas. It’s also normal for areas of the wonder under not to attach. On the fabric, this actually looks like peeling rust.
However I like this one much better.
This is a really quick technique for times when you don’t have time to wait for real rusted fabric!
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Excellent job!!!!!Beautiful color!!!!
Looks like fun! Adding that to my “list of things to try”…. And as always, I look forward to seeing what you do with it!
Linda, a thought occurred to me that perhaps tea dyed muslin could be used as the substrate, then the whiteness of the fabric wouldn’t bother one. Just a thought. Joanne’s fabric has it by the yard. S
Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions 🙂
Looks great! Im doing my A2 art textile design studying corrosion and have just done something similar this week and I also had the thought like Sharon to tea dyed fabric! 🙂
Great way to make rusted fabric. I make some with muslin. Put it in your flower pots in the fall. The fertelizer will make holes and discolour the fabric. Take it out in the spring. Wash and paint. Love it.
Linda, this is great. Is the fabric sticky? Will it fuse to something else, because it has the Wonder Under on it? Or, does the paint take that all away? — Arley
The stickiness depends how much paint and water you use. The more you use, the less sticky.