Fabric Paints and Sprays

Get Crafting

Fabric Paints and Sprays – Following on from last weeks blog post, Hessian for Construction and Art and Crafts, we are going to be taking a look at KBT’s fine range of Arts and Crafts supplies, in particular fabric crafts.

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We will be exploring fabric dyes, textile paints, textile markers and fixatives as well as some of our craft ready fabrics. Everything you need to get started on your next arts and crafts project.

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Hessian for Construction Arts and Crafts

Hessian for Construction Arts and Crafts

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Hessian for Construction Arts and Crafts

“Yonder are the Hessians. They were bought for seven pounds and tenpence a man. Are you worth more? Prove it. Tonight the American flag floats from yonder hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!” — John Stark at the Battle of Bennington in 1777

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The Elements of Design: Choosing the Right Collar

To design and make clothing, you will evidently need to consider the appearance of each garment. When it comes to designing a collection or trying to establish a capsule wardrobe, every element will need to be carefully deliberated.

violet big bow collar

This includes the silhouette, shape, fabric, embellishments and design features such as pleats, gathers, pockets and collars. They all make an impact and can instantly change the overall look. In these blog posts we are going to review a variety of clothing elements to help you make informed decisions in your design process. Continue reading “The Elements of Design: Choosing the Right Collar”


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Important Ideas to Consider for Wedding Decor

When the venue and date of your big day is all set, you want the organisation of everything else to run smoothly so that it all comes together without any ‘oh I should have thought of that’ panics. One of the important parts of wedding planning is the decor to make such a special occasion look perfect. Type wedding decoration into a Google search and countless ideas will come up. Yet how to go about putting everything together is another matter, including the use of fabrics, paints, furnishing and decoration.
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Velcro Receptive (Hook and Loop) Fabrics

Velcro receptive fabrics are fabrics which are able to attach to the rough, hook side of Velcro. It is basically a fluffy surface consisting of lots of loops. These fabrics are commonly used for notice boards schools presentation boards at a trade show so that display visuals can be frequently changed and moved around easily. These loop fabrics are surprisingly strong (some more so than others) and can carry a lot of weight. As you can see from the video, some of the receptive fabrics have a better ability to hold onto the Velcro than others. Continue reading “Velcro Receptive (Hook and Loop) Fabrics”


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A Revolutionary Fibre: Lycra

The invention of Lycra completely changed clothing by reforming the comfort and fit of garments, making way for new concepts and designs. The development of Lycra in trousers and jeans made the skinny style possible and helped clothing to become more comfortable and easier to move in. Just by using a small percentage of elastane, jeans can fit more people better. Without any stretch jeans are very stiff, harder to get on and off and will need to be fitted more precisely for your body shape.

rainbow and silver Lycra fabric

Lycra brought exceptional qualities to fabrics, creating new properties which were not possible before. Ever since it was first introduced, new Lycra innovations have continued to be developed under INVISTA. There are now so many different Lycra types it’s hard to keep up! Continue reading “A Revolutionary Fibre: Lycra”


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7 Ways to be More Sustainable With Clothing

To sum up this sustainability topic, which never really ends so long as we keep thinking about our planet and ethics, here are some key actions needed to make a difference.

But firstly, did you know that 30% of the carbon footprint associated with fashion actually lies with the consumer? One way specifically is through washing and even more so through tumble drying. Where cutting down on washes and using a drying rack will help our impact on the environment, here is what we can do to change the impact of the supply chain. Continue reading “7 Ways to be More Sustainable With Clothing”


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Tartan fabric: What’s in a design?

Following on from the previous Tartan fabric  which questioned the special identity that tartan fabrics possess, here are snippets behind the background of a range of tartans. Some of these tartans are famously recognised and others are blessed with a meaningful context. The semiotics and connotations of especially the colours within a tartan is what really defines the design and makes each one distinct amongst the sea of stripes and squares. Continue reading “Tartan fabric: What’s in a design?”


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Decoration or Descendants: What Makes Tartan Fabric Special?

Tartans are especially associated with Scotland. To some people tartans are simply a fashionable pattern whereas others believe they emerged as a way of differentiating the clans of Scotland, much like African head wraps can vary between regions. Ultimately they are a type of decorative cloth with patterns that can differ so much by just making a simple change, for instance the amount of stripes vertically or horizontally, the width, colour and the distance between the stripes. The diversity which can come from this has led to various areas in Scotland, or clans, to wear a particular tartan pattern, although it is believed that clan tartans were not truly recognised until later in the 18th century. Originally the fabric pattern would have depended on what the local producer made. So what is the history of tartan and why is the pattern so unique? Continue reading “Decoration or Descendants: What Makes Tartan Fabric Special?”


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Environmental Issues of Fabric Production

Environmental Issues of Fabric Production. There are so many processes which go into making a single item of clothing and to think of how many millions of clothes are made every year! All of these processes use environmental resources, such as fossil fuels for the transportation of fibres grown in one country to where they are manufactured into garments in another country and then sold in another. This is how some of the processes to produce fibres and fabrics can ruin the environment and some of the actions which can be implemented to improve damages: Continue reading “Environmental Issues of Fabric Production”


For help and advice please call us on Tel: 0121 359 2349