BOW LEGGINGS tutorial

For my second pair of hand-stamped leggings during KCWC, I chose to do a bow design. I've seen several bow print shirts, sweaters, and more and am all about bows and polka-dots for the gal right now. Okay, really any fun prints... And now that I've gotten into hand-stamping prints on fabric, I can make any printed clothes my print-loving heart desires. You can too! But let's start with these bow leggings.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
-Solid colored leggings

-Fabric paint or acrylic paint plus textile medium

-2 medium-sized potatoes

-A sharp knife

-Cardboard

-A small plate for your paint

-The next episode of your favorite show

1.) Cut your cardboard in the shape of your leggings and stick it inside.

2.) Take your knife and one potato, and cut a bow design into the potato about 1/2" deep. Then use your knife to cut around the design on the side, so that all you have left is bow potato stamp.

3.) Take your knife and the second potato, and cut a circle just big enough to be the center for your bow. Then use your knife to cut around the design but not into it, so that all you have left is a circle potato stamp.

 3.) If you are using acrylic paint plus textile medium, follow the directions on the back of your textile medium and mix the two together on your plate. If you are using fabric paint, just squirt some on the plate. I covered my dish with enough paint to be just a bit bigger than I wanted my bow. A thin pool of paint is better than thick.

 4.) Take your bow potato stamp and dip the very end of it into the paint. At this point, it is good to do a practice stamp or two on a piece of paper to make sure you are using the right amount of paint, not too much or too little, and the right amount of pressure.

 5.) Once you are confident in your stamping, you can start stamping bows on your leggings. Dip your potato in the paint in between each time you stamp. I didn't do very many bows on my leggings, but I think it would also look pretty awesome to have a ton of bows, so go crazy if your heart desires!

6.) Once you are done stamping bows, you can repeat the same process with your circle stamp and stamp circles into the middle of your bows.

7.) If the bow isn't as saturated with color as you would like, you can wait a little while and then carefully restamp them all until they are as saturated as you want.


8.) Once you are done painting, let the leggings dry for 24 hours and then set the paint with heat as directed on the back of your textile medium or fabric paint. Also note washing instructions on your paint, so you don't wash them sooner than needed.

9.) When you are done, and your paint is all dry and set, put the leggings on your toddler and take photos to share with all your blog and Facebook friends. You're so crafty!