Embroidery and Paint - Suggestions?

[Murdercakes]

In my goal of experimentation, I'd like to try combining hand embroidery with some kind of fabric painting. But I have some questions:

- If I was doing a paler shade - would a scumbling technique work on the fabric?
- What would be the best paint to use, without it becoming all stiff and icky?
- Any particular brand I should look at that is preferable to this kind of treatment?

Any other suggestions would be appreciated. This is an embroidery experiment (since I'm a n00b at embroidery). Thanks for your time!

-MC

[Cyndi L]

This is one of my major things, and although you can buy the more expensive textile acrylics, plain old acrylics work just fine. All painting (as opposed to dyeing) deposits pigments on the surface of the fabric and changes the hand. But if you keep the acrylics thin, you'll have no trouble sewing through them. I just very occasionally have to wipe down my needle a bit.

I've got a whole bunch of tutorials on fabric painting techniques here. Many of these pieces that I painted ended up in beaded and/or thread embroidered quilts and other objects.