Upholstery in a Can - Painting Fabric with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™

Painting Fabric - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

There will always be doubters. I mean, who would believe the claim 'Paint Everything'? They must be crazy right? Nope. It's true. You really CAN paint pretty much everything with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™. From wood and glass, to brick and floors. Heck, I have a few clients who have even painted their fridges, no joke! So today I wanted to show you how you can easily paint fabric with Chalk Paint™.

If you've ever reupholstered a fabric chair, you know how expensive fabric can be - especially decent quality, heavy-duty material that can take a lot of usage. Now a simple seat cover is an easy DIY task, however, a club-style chair like this one would need a little more know-how to get a beautifully refinished look. Not to mention those tufts - don't even get me started on how tricky they can be!

The solution? Upholstery in a can. That's right - why not give an easy makeover with a can of paint? Not any regular latex, acrylic or even (dare I mention it), competitive 'chalk-style' paint. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint has been tested by the expert herself - Annie Sloan - and she's written about the technique in several of her books. From dyeing linens, curtains, duvets - you name it, the original Chalk Paint™ can be used in many different ways to dye all kinds of fabric types - including the old-fashioned, dirty yellow velvet this club chair donned previously. Painted fabric, even if it has a pile, can be painted with a soft, supple finish and not leave you with a dyed butt (I know you were thinking it!)!

So here's how I painted this velvet club chair. Let's go!

What you need:

Old Chair in need of a facelift (ensure the fabric is soft - linen, cotton, velvet, etc)

Drop Cloth

Annie Sloan Pure Bristle Brush (medium size works well)

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ (I used Napoleonic Blue)

Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax

A dry, lint-free cloth (like Shop Towels)

Fine Sandpaper

Water

Spray Bottle

Patience (as always)

1. Prepare your chair for painting. Vacuum and ensure there is no dust in the fibres. If you're not painting the chair frame, make any repairs at this time. The wood on our chair had some knicks and scratches - we repaired it with General Finishes Gel Stain and a quick wipe. We also trimmed the ripped underlay under the seat.

When selecting a fabric to paint, ensure it has a soft texture - not coarse like canvas or heavy corduroy. Velvet like this is perfect - the old stains will be completed covered by the paint.

2. We chose Napoleonic Blue for our chair. Keep in mind the colour of the fabric may also affect the final colour, depending on what shade of Chalk Paint™ you select. Because blue and yellow are complementary colours, I knew I would get a rich shade of green in the end.

3. Mist your fabric lightly with water in a spray bottle. Try not to soak it - it just needs to be damp when applying your first coat of Chalk Paint™.

4. Prepare your paint - or technically dye. Chalk Paint™ is water-based, and therefore adding water to dilute it down will allow you to paint fabric without applying it too thickly, and it will also help the fabric absorb the paint. You do not want thick paint as it will not absorb into the fibres - it will sit on the surface and potentially crack and harden. You will need to play with the ratio of water and paint to suit your fabric type. For this velvet, I used about a 50:50 blend of water to paint.

5. Apply the diluted paint with an Annie Sloan Pure Bristle Round Brush, moving in a circular motion. I recommend this brush over a typical hardware store brush as it has more bristles (or should I say, 'hair', as it is in fact made with hog's hair!) than typical flat-edged brushes. The bristles also have split-ends, making this brush perfect for scrubbing the paint into the velvet.

6. Continue to work the paint into the fabric, ensuring you do not overburden the fabric with a thick layer of paint. The paint shouldn't stick to the wood - it is too watered down to adhere - so just clean off any messes with a lint-free cloth. If you're painting a material like velvet, make sure when you're finished each section, you run your paintbrush in the direction of the nap - that is, that it lays down rather than stands straight up.

7. Allow the painted fabric to dry for at least 24 hours. It may take longer if you're painting in the humid months. You will likely still see some of the original fabric colour coming through once it's dry. It will take 2-3 coats to completely change the colour of the fabric.

8. Using a fine-grit sandpaper (I used 220 grit, but finer would be better - try 600 grit wet/dry paper), lightly sand the fabric in the direction of the pile (if applicable). As weird as this step seems, it's ultimately what left the velvet feeling soft and smooth.

9. After sanding, complete a second coat of paint all over the surface of your fabric, again moving in circles and brushing down the pile when finished each area to ensure the fabric stays plush. I actually added more water to the second coat (probably a 75:25 water to paint ratio). This is all trial and error and these ratios are only guidelines - every fabric will be different!

10. Once again, allow the second coat (or third if required) to completely dry - at least 24 hours. Give the fabric another good sand with fine-grit sand paper, lifting the pile of the fabric. Remember to sand in the direction of the pile, otherwise you will see scratches across the fabric.

11. Now this next step is optional. After my second sanding step, the fabric was soft and plush. You could leave it as is, however, I was worried I may risk having the paint come off if someone sat in it for too long. I did go ahead and give a light coat of Annie Sloan Soft Wax to seal in the paint. Adding mineral spirits (unscented if you can find it) to the wax will thin it out a little - helping the fabric absorb it and prevent excess wax from sitting on the surface. This creates almost a leather-like texture to the velvet - extremely soft to the touch, but no longer plush. Personally, I preferred the look and feel of the fabric before I applied the Soft Wax, but like I said - there's a lot of trial and error with painting fabric!

I just love the deep, rich green-teal the blend of yellow velvet and Napoleonic Blue achieved.

Sanding deep inside the tufts really ensured that the fabric stays soft, even under all the creases.

This shot really shows the 'leather'-like texture that is the result of using the Soft Wax. The wax also really deepened the colour of the velvet.

I even left a little surprise on the back of the chair! The original mustard yellow coordinated wonderfully with the green-teal of the painted fabric. Gives this piece some interest and even a modern, retro look!

Well there you have it! Painting fabric with Chalk Paint™ is easy, inexpensive and a great way to step out of the box and try something new and interesting. I will certainly be trying this technique again. As much as I enjoy reupholstering with fabric, using the 'upholstery in a can' method was much easier!

Cheers folks,