Baronial A&S Tablecloth/s

Something I have been concentrating on for the last couple of weeks is making up a new A&S tablecloth for the Barony.

The old A&S tablecloth that I made some time in the 2000s is really showing it's age, and we had some blue tablecloths in storage that were not being used. Someone suggested that they be turned into A&S tablecloths which sounded like a great idea.

I machine-sewed on some white bias binding around the edges of the tablecloth and marked out the candle-in-arch A&S design with a template. I made up some fabric paints using acrylic and textile medium and started to paint. I thought a couple of coats would do it, but each motif ended up needing seven or eight coats because of the composition of the fabric and the way that it soaked up the paint.

The motifs haven't turned out as crisply as I would have liked, but the overall effect is much nicer than the previous tablecloth.

Heraldic Painted Bags

Here is a project that I finished last month- bags with a painted heraldic device. 

I strive to cover up mundanities at events, but sometimes, when I'm in a rush, I have forgotten to bring cloths to cover up with. To help remedy this problem, I decided to paint some bags with a version of my heraldic device.

The 'stencil' was one of a set of birthday decorations that my sister bought me last year. I just love it. The bags are commercially produced cotton bags available from Spotlight stores.

I traced around the seahorse stencil carefully with pencil. I used pencil rather than frixion marker just in case the paint made the marker ink run. I suggest pre-washing your fabric also.

I used black acrylic paint mixed with a textile medium to create fabric paint. The design needed two layers (and touch ups) to get a nice even coverage.

I cut open plastic shopping bags and slid them inside the fabric bags to stop the paint from running through to the other side. I would not recommend paper for this, as is will stick to the inside of the fabric and can be almost impossible to remove. (Ask me how I know 😏 )

When the first side was complete and dry, I put the bag up against a glass door and traced the design in reverse on the other side. I then followed the same process as above.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions on the textile medium, and wash out your brush often as the paint builds up and hardens quite quickly.

The textile medium that I was using is heat set, so when the paint was dry and the plastic bag insert was removed, I laid a large paper bag on the ironing board. I put my painted bag on top and then put another paper bag on top of the painted area. I just used a cut open (clean) lunch bag. The paper stops any paint residue from being spread around and protects the painted area from burning. I also turned the steam option on my iron off, but make sure to follow the instructions on the textile medium, because there are several different brands around.

This project took longer than I expected, but was fun. I plan to do more painted fabric projects in the future. Painting fabric provides a good visual impact without the time commitment of applique or embroidery.

Painting on fabric is a period technique; Cennino d'Andrea Cennini discusses it in section X of  'Il Libro dell'Arte'. Modern acrylics and textile medium are much easier and faster to use than gesso and lead paints, and certainly safer. Time will tell how well  the textile medium wears and stands up to washing.

Dover Publications 'The Craftsman's Handbook (Il Libro dell'Arte) translated by Daniel V Thompson Jr (1960) [https://store.doverpublications.com/048620054x.html] is an inexpensive reproduction which will be of interest to SCA painters and craftspeople. It gives an insight into artistic practices common in Italy in the Renaissance.

Heraldic Bunting

The head of my SCA household had an idea recently - buy some pre-packaged canvas flags and decorate them with the heraldry of the household to create a decorative bunting. I thought it was a brilliant plan; quick, easy enough for all experience levels, cost effective, and visually impressive.

I had some cheap poster paints in my heraldic colours and just got some fixative to add to make the paint into fabric paint. The coverage was not great, and the result was pretty streaky. I put this down to the cheap acrylic poster paint, and next time I would invest a bit more on pigment-rich, higher quality paint.

The flags are canvas with holes punched into them. I decided to buttonhole edge mine because it can get quite windy here, and I would hate for them to fray and fall apart.

This is a great project for younger people to get involved in; I printed my device off from the Roll of Arms and put the print up against a window to use it as a "light box''. After that, it was just a matter of painting in the lines and putting down colour. I followed the directions on the fixative bottle; in this instance the flag had to dry for 24 hours before being ironed with an indirect heat to set.