Best Brushes for Fabric Painting - Decorative Painting, Ceramics, Fabric Painting, Crafts

Fabric painting brushes need to be stiffer so you can press the paint into the fabric. Fabric paints must be pressed down into the fabric as they are painted. If you just lay a bead or layer on the surface, it will not grip the fibres and, therefore, will flake or chip off.

Silk Brushes compare to Fabric Brushes Silk brushes are soft and soak up large amounts of dye. They are used for filling in areas and watercolour painting. Fabric brushes are stiffer than silk brushes, which helps to force paint or dye into the fabric weave.

Round Tip Brushes. Use on point or apply pressure to make thick-to-thin strokes. Detail work or filling large areas depending upon the size and pressure applied.

Tiny Round Tip Brushes. Also called Spotter, they are designed for detailing. Great for letters, eyes, and eyelashes, to name a few.

Flat Tip Brushes. Also called Shader, used for blocking in colour, blending, shading, stroke work and highlighting.

Liner Brushes. Best used for lines and curves and can change thickness with pressure.

Sumi Brushes. Used for silk painting and calligraphy. They become stiffer in the center, allowing more liquid to be soaked in—traditional brushes used in China.

Chinese Wash Brushes. Used for large, broad sweeping strokes.

Foam Brushes. Wooden handled foam brushes are great for applying dyes, dye fixatives, primers or thin paints in large washes. They are also suitable for applying dye to tie-dye instead of squirt bottles.