Choosing your fabric is important. A natural fabric is usually best since synthetic fabrics don’t absorb inks or dyes very well. All of my samples are done on a natural fabric, most on muslin. Muslin is 100% cotton, takes inks well, and has a rougher texture to it. It's inexpensive and available at fabric stores.
Fabric can be easily manipulated, stiffened with glues or mediums, painted on, cut and torn. Tearing muslin cloth is easily done, just cut a little slit where you want the tear to start, and pull the two sides apart, it will tear, leaving a soft, ragged edge along both sides. Try tearing all sides or just one or two for interest.
I experimented with different inks, and decided that solid, dark colored dye ink seemed to work the best on the fabrics. Pigment inks will work but embossing just the image and not getting embossing powder all over the fabric can be difficult. Light colored inks just don’t show up well, although the can be used for a shadow effect where the lighter color is wanted.
I used a few different mediums to add color to the fabric. I used chalks, craft paint and Lumiere (Jacquard) mixed with metallic powdered pigments. Craft paints can be used as long as you mix the craft paint with a textile medium. This makes the fabric washable. I painted this t-shirt with a mixture of craft paint and textile medium. 
I thought I would start out easy experimenting with fabrics so I purchased a small muslin tote and decided an easy shadow stamping technique would work well with it. I used a lovely stamp from Inkadinkado that has both a shadow stamp and a leaf stamp on one block. 
For a little twist on the fabric theme, I combined the hard surface of wood and the soft fabric to make a plaque to remind myself to slow down. I used Matte Medium (Grumbacher) to adhere the stamped fabric onto the plaque. I had torn the edges of the fabric so it blended nicely into the wood. 
Working on a smaller scale, I was inspired by another artist to make a couple of fabric pins. I'm not much of a seamstress anymore, so although, this pin is sewn together, it could also be glued instead. Beads or other embellishments could be added before you stitch or glue it together. 
I went an easier route for this pin, using a very sticky double-sided tape to hold the muslin square to the mat board. This would also make a great magnet, substituting a magnet for the pinback. 
Well, I bent the definition of fabric with this example because I used real suede but I couldn’t resist trying to stamp on it. I had bought three suede skirts at a thrift store and although I wasn’t sure at the time what I would do with the suede, combining the three colours turned out beautiful. Covering a purchased scrapbook made the construction go quickly and wouldn’t this make a lovely gift? You could personalize it by using the recipients' photo on the cover.
Stamping on fabric shouldn't be intimidating. It’s a wonderful medium that encourages people to handle and touch your art. The softness can be a welcome alternative to the hard surfaces that we usually stamp on. I have to admit that I hadn't stamped on any fabrics before doing this article but I am definitely including it in my projects from now on. I can't wait to see what else is at the fabric store!
