Swirl Gutta

Materials:
Off-the-Shelf Fabric Painting by Sue Beevers
fabric paint or fabric paint kits
compass
18" x 24" square stretcher frame
white or off-white fabric
water-soluble gutta
small plastic bottle
rotary cutter

Note: Water-soluble gutta is a resist that controls the spread of paint.

Steps:

2. Draw the circle designs inside the paper rectangle with a compass (figure B). Start with the outer circles and arrange the design into a desired pattern (figure C). Note all the circle measurements on the paper pattern as a reference for the circle placement on the fabric.

3. Draw the inner circles (figure D). When they are placed within the larger circle, they will become directional. Lightly draw diagonal lines prior to drawing the circles to ensure the circles are pointing in different directions (figure E).

4. Draw the swirls. A rule of thumb when drawing swirls is the rounder, the better. Note that in this sample, swirls emanate from the same circle. Also note that one swirl ducks behind a circle (figure F).

5. Carefully examine the design and make changes as desired. Once you have the finished paper pattern, transfer the design to cloth.

6. Place the 21" x 27" piece of fabric on the 18" x 24" square stretcher frame. Pin the midpoints, the edges, then the point in between. Make sure that the fabric is taught.

7. Lightly draw the design on the fabric with a compass and pencil, using your paper design as a guide. Remember to enlarge the design on the fabric proportionally to the one on the paper. For example, if your paper design is 6" x 8", circles will be three times larger.

8. Fill a small squeeze bottle, with a medium-sized tip, with water-soluble gutta. Wearing gloves, trace the design on the fabric with the gutta (figure G). Start with the circles. After tracing one circle, flip the fabric over to ensure that the gutta penetrated the reverse side of the fabric. Retrace the circle on the reverse side as necessary. Repeat for the swirl shapes.

9. Allow the gutta to dry thoroughly.

10. Paint each fabric section with desired colors.

Note: Paint viscosity is very important--it needs to be fairly thin. Here's a quick test: Apply paint to the fabric and hold it vertically. If the paint migrates downward, it is the correct viscosity. If it doesn't, it needs to be thinned with water.

- Bleeding: Slightly wet the section to be painted. Place a stripe of paint where you want it to be darkest (figure H). Hold the frame vertically to allow the paint to migrate. Turn the frame to control the direction of migration.

- Color blending: Two or more colors can be used in the same space (figure I). Spritz lightly with water, and gently brush the area between the two colors to encourage blending.

- Splattering: Gently splatter paint on the fabric (figure J) by tapping a brush over your finger. Cover any areas that you don't want splattered with paint.

11. Once the painting has been completed and the paint has thoroughly dried, remove from the stretcher. Heat-set according to the instructions on the paint container (figure K).

12. Remove the gutta by soaking the fabric in warm water for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and line-dry.

13. Press and quilt the top. Trim the excess (unpainted) fabric from the quilt top. A rotary cutter is the best tool for this job.

14. Attach a simple binding and a sleeve for hanging.