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How to Paint Fabric the Easy Way with Chalk Paint

An easy tutorial on how to Paint fabric with chalk paint. Painting upholstery with chalk paint is easy with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

My first thought when I heard of someone PAINTING FABRIC was, “WHAT, I would never do that, I can’t imaging it actually looking or feeling ok.” I know painting fabric or painting upholstery has become more popular lately, but I just didn’t think it would ever be a project for me….until I got desperate. Let me show you how to paint fabric with chalk paint.

This summer I “restyled” my front porch, and the current color of my cushions just didn’t look right with the new decor.  More importantly, outdoor cushions are expensive y’all, so buying new was just not in the budget.

You can also use this technique to paint indoor furniture upholstery too. As a matter of fact, if you are looking to paint fabric with acrylic paint I’ve got a post for that too!

Painting fabric can look and feel good, but not all fabric or upholstery can be painted.

In my opinion, the best fabric to paint is smooth with little texture. I’ve seen a lot of fabric painting go wrong with upholstery like velvet or heavily textured fabric. My best piece of advice is to test a small piece of fabric first with the WHOLE process. I know that might be extra time consuming (because the process can take days) but it will prevent you from ruining a good piece of fabric.

By the way; If after reading this post, painting fabric still seems a bit daunting, you can learn how to use Rit Dye to dye fabric here.

how to paint fabric with chalk paint

So now that my little disclaimer is out of the way, let’s start with how I painted my outdoor fabric, shall we?

Make sure to check out my review of Rustoleum Outdoor Fabric Spray Paint too.

A couple of the before pictures so you can see where I started:

Disclosure; this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect the price you pay. This disclosure statement refers to the rest of the amazon links and other affiliate links in this post.

the cushions before the paint
the cushions before the paint

This was the original pattern with black and white colors. These cushions have a smooth fabric that has no texture.

By the way, below is my Jenny Lind Crib to bench makeover.

How to create a Jenny Lind Crib to a bench
A few different ways to style an old Jenny Lind Crib

Fabric painting materials

  1. sand paper- I used a 160 grit. You DO NOT NEED A COURSE GRIT sand paper because it will pull the paint off.
  2. Paint brush
  3. Paint- I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color Duck Egg Blue
  4. Top Coat- use furniture WAX. I made the mistake of starting out with a water based clear sealer because I ran out of wax, DO NOT do this. I don’t know what I was thinking, because when I applied one coat to the bottom of one cushion (thank goodness I didn’t do more) it created a very “vinyl” feel and did not bend at all. Lesson Learned, if you want breathable, bendable, soft cushions, use wax.
  5. Spray bottle or cup of water.

Here’s a quick video sharing how I started painting the cushions with chalk paint.

Is chalk paint good for painting fabric?

Absolutely! When PAINTING FABRIC, you need a “breathable” paint. Chalk Paint, for example, is considered breathable because it will soak into the fabric. If the paint sits on top and does not penetrate the fabric, when you sit on it, or bend it, it will probably crack. So, Chalk Paint will be my choice of paint.

Tips for Painting fabric or painting upholstery with chalk paint

  • Sanding between coats while PAINTING any upholstery is a must. This is very important especially with Chalk paint because you want the actual pigment to remain and not all the chalky residue. This also makes the fabric nice and soft.
  • Depending on the material you are painting, the fabric might end up feeling a little like “Vinyl.”
  • Always use a top coat, otherwise the paint might bleed…..this might be tragic to the person sitting on it!
  • Wet the fabric or cushions first with a spray bottle, or dip your paint brush in water and lightly dampen the material. This allows the fabric to soak up more paint.
  • Use a mixture of half water and half paint. Once again, this allows the fabric to really soak up the paint.
  • Wait at least 24 hours in between each coat- this ensures that all the fabric is dry, especially if the paint soaked deep into the fabric.
chalk painting outdoor cushions and fabric

The pictures above are shown after the first coat. The square bottom cushions were MUCH easier to PAINT and required less coats. The top pillows on the right soaked up the paint and required one more coat than the bottom cushions.

painting fabric with chalk paint

This is what they looked like wet after the first coat.

FYI: I did not have a spray bottle so I wet a paint brush and lightly covered the fabric with water before I started PAINTING MY OUTDOOR CUSHIONS.

Another note; I used an old tupperware dish to mix the paint with water.

How to paint fabric or upholstery with Annie Sloan chalk paint

  1. Lightly wet cushions with spray bottle
  2. apply 1:1 water/paint mix
  3. wait 24 hours to dry
  4. sand with finer grit sand paper
  5. repeat until desired color is achieved
  6. Apply 1-2 coats of wax

I did not sand after the final wax coat (and I did not dilute the wax), but I did sand in between every other coat.

The bottom cushions took 2 coats of paint and the top cushions took 3 and I only used one coat of wax to finish them off.

I’m much more pleased than I ever thought I would be because, #1 this was a free project and #2 they still feel like fabric. I’ll be honest, they don’t feel AS soft as they did before, but they DO still feel like fabric. I was worried they would feel “Crunchy” you know what I mean? Oh, and a side note; this weekend we had torrential rain and the cushions got drenched. Guess what, they held up beautifully and look the exact same as they did when I first sat them on my porch!

Overall I’m super pleased with how my PAINTED OUTDOOR CUSHIONS turned out.

I would definitely do it again and recommend it to anyone.

A few Final pics:

how to paint fabric with chalk paint

So I can officially say I’ve taken my DIY skills to a new level with painting fabric.

That’s part of the fun though, trying something new and different, right? Have you ever completed a project you swore you would never try?

For now they will sit on my front porch and we will see how they hold up!

Painted outdoor cushions with chalk paint one year review

It’s been an entire year of these cushions sitting on my front porch in all the elements in south Alabama (high heat, humidity and lots of rain). They have held up better than I ever expected. Pictured below is after one year. I did clean them up with soap and water before taking this picture, but that’s it!

painted cushions one year later
painted outdoor cushions

How to paint fabric with chalk paint

how to paint fabric with chalk paint

An easy tutorial on how to Paint fabric with chalk paint. Painting upholstery with chalk paint is easy with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

Prep Time 1 hour
Active Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours
Difficulty Medium
Estimated Cost 75

Materials

  • sand paper- I used a fine 160 grit
  • Paint brush
  • Paint- I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color Duck Egg Blue
  • Top Coat- use furniture WAX
  • Spray bottle or cup of water

Tools

  • No tools

Instructions

  1. Lightly wet cushions with spray bottle
  2. apply 1:1 water/paint mix
  3. wait 24 hours to dry
  4. sand with finer grit sand paper
  5. repeat the paint steps until you get the desired color
  6. Apply 1-2 coats of wax

Notes

  1. when PAINTING FABRIC, you need a "breathable" paint. Chalk Paint, for example, is considered breathable because it will soak into the fabric. If the paint sits on top and does not penetrate the fabric, when you sit on it, or bend it, it will probably crack. So, Chalk Paint will be my choice of paint.
  2. Sanding between coats while PAINTING any upholstery is a must. This is very important especially with Chalk paint because you want the actual pigment to remain and not all the chalky residue. This also makes the fabric nice and soft.
  3. Depending on the material you are painting, the fabric might end up feeling a little like "Vinyl."
  4. Always use a top coat (wax preferred), otherwise the paint might bleed.....this might be tragic to the person sitting on it!
  5. Wet the fabric or cushions first with a spray bottle, or dip your paint brush in water and lightly dampen the material. This allows the fabric to soak up more paint.
  6. Use a mixture of half water and half paint. Once again, this allows the fabric to really soak up the paint.
  7. Wait at least 24 hours in between each coat- this ensures that all the fabric is dry, especially if the paint soaked deep into the fabric.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’ve learned something,

Lindsey**

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  1. Debra Lorrie says:

    Uh oh…I just applied a second coat of paint but didn’t see the part where you said to wait 24 hours between coats. I did remember to sand after first coat was dry to the touch (don’t know where I read when the cushion is dry to the touch apply second coat) I did follow your instructions to spray water o no first, paint, let dry (to the touch)! sanded with a foam sand pad, brush dust off and apply second coat. then let dry for 24 hours. Use wax to seal. Is my understanding of the instructions I read in your tutorial.

    My outdoor cushions are fairly smooth material and feel like outdoor material in it like the cloth ones. I think itit might be a treated canvas? To he paid by t is sinking in but not a lot.

    I sure hope I didn’t screw up. I’ve been trying to paint them to or a couple days now. At first, I tried using Glidden outdoor fabric paint. Oh boy, what a fiasco! I emptied 2 of the 3 cans on just one solid loveseat cushion . It went on spotty. Might have been operator error, just maybe..
    I have one can left and the larger bottom cushion still hasn’t been touched yet, other than vacuuming and washing it. I didn’t want to waste any more time using the spray paint and I was getting a headache even thought I had my garage door open event I was spraying.

    I came back inside and googled how to paint outdoor fabric using chalk paint and that’s how I found your instructions. I love how faster and easier it is using chalk paint and a brush. My finger was getting super tired pressing the button down on the spray can and the cube mist was a big ol fail.

    So far, my cushion is looking good with two coats so far. Did I screw up by not waiting 24 hours between coats? I’m a instant gratification kinda gal plus I’ve already been at the door 2 days now (sigh)

    Also, if you think my cushions will still look she feel okay after the final sanding, what kind of furniture wax do you recommend? I live in Arizona so these cushions need to survive in 110°+ heat for weeks at a time. Will wax be okay in the hottest of hottest summer heat?

    Thanks for the great tutorial. If my cushions don’t turn out the way I’m hoping and trying to get them to look, it’s not the paint or your great instructions, it’s definitely me , the instant gratification gal

    • Hey Debra,
      You will probably be ok not waiting 24 hours, especially if you are in a dry climate. As far as wax goes, I believe I used the Annie Sloan clear wax and it worked great! Any high quality clear wax should work ok too. I hope they turn out well for you! Thanks for stopping by.

  2. Ginger says:

    Can you paint a Naugahyde RV cover?

  3. Amy Kirn says:

    What kind of wax, and how is it applied ? Thank you in advance.

  4. Jana says:

    I’m in love with the color, what is it!

  5. Kathleena says:

    You talked about using a wax. What kind of wax

  6. louisa cranmore says:

    Would chalk paint also work on clothes? Ie is it washable? Thanks!

    • That’s a really good question and I’m not sure the answer to. I don’t know that I would use it on clothes since there are so many paints made specifically for lighter fabric like clothes.

  7. […] The Room Changer 2. Pillar Box Blue 3. Repurpose and Upcycle 4. Cobani […]

  8. You did a fabulous job! Wow, super impressed 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing with us this week at Dishing It & Digging It!

  9. now you’ve got me thinking about those 4 crappy looking cushions in my garage…#Inspired!

  10. What a totally cool idea. If my outdoor cushions were still alive, I’d give this a try. I’m bad. I left them outside during the winter and they somewhat fell apart..okay, not somewhat, they did fall apart and the insides went all over the neighborhood. OOPS. LOL. Thanks for stopping by the Wild Wednesday Link Up. HUGS!

  11. mariewikle says:

    wow. these are gorgeous! and doesn’t look too difficult for the non-crafty person.

    I’m your neighbor on life as we know it by paula link up

  12. I’m going to try this on my fabric valance in my guest bedroom. I was dreading recovering the frame with new fabric, because I don’t know how to sew or do upholstery work, but this looks like something I can do. I am amazed that the light blue color was able to cover the black and white pattern. I never would have thought that would be possible. Thanks for the great idea! (And I love your new website, commenting using my facebook account is so easy!)

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