Five Tips for Successful Rubbings

By Laura Murray

Paintstik rubbings are my favorite technique for quickly transforming plain cloth into the fabric of my dreams. Five years of happily exploring this wonderful medium, combined with numerous demonstrations and classes, have taught me to always use the following tips for best results.

1. Keep the fabric from slipping, which prevents blurry images. Use a Grip-n-Grip (no-slip mat) to prevent fabric from slipping across the work surface as you work, and spray the top of rubbing plates or stamps with repositionable spray adhesive. which prevents blurry images. Use a Grip-n-Grip (no-slip mat) to prevent fabric from slipping across the work surface as you work, and spray the top of rubbing plates or stamps with repositionable spray adhesive.

2. Keep the paintstik smooth and free from skin while you work. Always begin a project by wiping the sticks into paper towels until the skin is thoroughly removed; wipe down again when you see "crumbs" of skin appearing on your fabric. The crumbs can be picked up by firmly pressing a piece of tape into the unwanted paint, then lifting it up.

3. Apply light, medium or heavy pressure to control paint coverage. How hard you rub the paintstick into the fabric produces different results, so experiment to see what works best for your project.

4. Use the tip of the paintstik for detail with multiple colors, and the long side for single colors. For small detail with multiple colors, use the tip of the paintstik (in the original rounded shape). For single colors, use a section of the paintstik (about 2”), and remove the skin from the side of the stick. Lightly rub over the entire design, then go back and apply different colors as desired. This prevents "rubbing off the edges" of designs.

5. Rub in one direction only. Rubbing back and forth causes shifting of the fabric, and blurry images. Hold the fabric with the one hand and rub away from your body, using short strokes.