How To Tattoo Your Jeans

Fun and Easy Way To Personalize Your Jeans

I'm all for tattoo's, I think they're a great way to make a personal statement. Sadly, I have a thing about needles, so it's just not gonna happen for me. Luckily I found a great way to get my tattoo on, without needles!

Tattooing your jeans is fun and easy and doesn't cost very much. It's a great craft project for any age and it's great to have a pair of jeans that no one else has.

What You Will Need to Tattoo Your Jeans:

• Fabric Paint (Most projects require only a few colors to complete)
• Something to mix the paints on (A plastic plate or a piece of cardboard works)
• Paint brushes (round stencil brushes as well as a selection of artist brushes, look for some really fine and small paint brushes)
• Jeans (I always recommend starting with an older pair of jeans to practice on first)
• Tattoo Stencils (You can find these at fabric and craft stores)
• Tape (almost any kind will work, I like blue painter's tape and scotch tape)
• Cardboard or Poster board inserts
• Paper Towels for blotting the paint

Wash Your Jeans: Whether you're starting with an old pair of jeans, or a pair of brand new jeans, wash your jeans first. This is an important step as you never know what's on the fabric that you can't see. New jeans often have a residue from processing them. Worn jeans often have hidden dirt and oils that can all affect the adhesion of the ink.

Prepare Your Inserts: Lay your clean jeans out on a clear work surface with plenty of room for the jeans. Cut you poster board or cardboard to size. The insert should be able to slide into what ever area of your jeans you will be painting. This will keep your tattoos form leaking through your jeans and out the other side.

Prepare The Stencil: Lay your stencil where you would like to tattoo. Tape all four sides down with painter's tape. You can buy adhesive stencils that will eliminate the need to tape the stencil down. If you're working on a more difficult are of the jeans, like along a side seam, it can help to tape the jeans down to the work surface so they don't move around.

Tattoo Your Jeans: Squeeze out your paint choices onto the plastic plate. To cover larger areas of the stencil use the round stencil brush. Gently dab it into the paint color. Blot it a little on a paper towel if you have too much paint. Now, start dabbing this on your jeans in the appropriate area of the stencil. This is just like completing a stencil on the wall or a piece of furniture.

Finishing Touches: For a finished look you can let these large areas of color dry and then use your finer artist brushes to paint small details. If you're applying a tattoo that is all outlines of black or some color than you can simply use your fine paintbrush to apply the paint. Fabric paint pens in black work well too.

Remove Stencil and Let Dry: Remove your stencil and let your handy work dry. I like to let mine dry for at least 24 - 48 hours. Then, I wash my jeans in cold water to set the paint (read the recommendations for the fabric paint you purchased, it could have different instructions). I recommend washing and drying your tattooed jeans inside out. This greatly prolongs the life of the tattoo. Whenever possible I line dry my jeans to make the tattoos last even longer.

I've been delighted with the selection of stencils I've found at Michael's and at Benjamin Franklin's. Both are craft stores in my area. You should be able to find what you need at any local craft store and most fabric stores also carry stencils and fabric paints.

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