Well I tried something new! Not difficult, but I do think there are a few tips to learn to perfecting this process. I’m talking about waterproofing my fabric with Odicoat for a classic zip around wallet by Maggy55. I want to do this pattern in leather but my leather tools are so limited, plus I think for the first one I had better start with cotton! I’ll blog more on that leather adventure later, but for now…on to waterproofing fabric!
I cut an approximate amount of fabric. I’ve seen videos of waterproofing with odicoat on the fabric already cut out of pattern they are making but I wasn’t sure if the process would shrink the fabric so I chose to cut the pattern out after the process is complete.
Next, press your fabric well. If there are creases in your fabric, they’ll remain permanently! You’ll glue them in! So press all creases out first. Also, watch for any small stray threads. I was intermittently skiving leather by hand in between waterproofing (since you have to wait an hour between applications). Note to self…not a good idea to skive ANYWHERE near waterproofing! I was constantly picking tiny green flecks from the glued fabric!
Place your fabric on something to protect your work surface. I chose to use aluminum foil. Fabric may stick to surface median so lift after each application to make sure its not stuck. Aluminum foil was a good option.
For my first one, I followed Andrie Designs video https://youtu.be/vvHan-zuRzw and used a paint brush with bristles that are only about 1/2” wide. The video i watched said that is recommended size or could get out of hand. I’m not sure on that. Seems a wider brush would make it easier but you might be applying more than necessary and that isn’t good for best results. Object is to just thin-coat project. (Which i discovered after my second attempt)
Apply odicoat in one direction… I chose horizontal for first coat. Holding one side edge, brush continuously spreading the odicoat thinly. I learned from this step and I’ll elaborate soon.
Wait an hour.
Ok, time to apply second coat. It shouldn’t take as much according to Andrie Designs. And you’re going to apply this coat in vertical direction. This is to make sure all fibers get coated. Again, let dry and hour.
Ok last coat. Paint it diagonally this last coating. Then allow to dry for 24 hrs.
In the meantime I learned a lot from my own experience. I had painted a second piece of fabric. And feeling confident i knew what I was doing now, I painted it horizontally, waited an hour and went to do second coat. Applied second coat…waited another hour. This time I noticed I had applied too much and had left a few bubbled spots! You can’t remove without making a mess of the protection odicoat provides! Plus I noticed that instead of enhancing color of this fabric, it lightened color!
Well needless to say, this experimental piece was trashed! Lol! Lesson learned…use minimal amounts of odicoat… particularly on second and third coats! This picture really doesn’t show true color of fabric. It actually is bright like the “after” pic. But point is, too much will lighten/dull your fabric.
Last step
After drying for 24 hours, you’ll need to set the finish by pressing it. Set your iron on silk. You don’t want to damage the odicoat seal. (Again, I forgot this temp setting step and started out with a higher temp! Might be why I don’t think my finish is quite the same as Andrie Designs!). Cover your fabric with a pressing cloth or parchment paper, and press in circular-like motion for about 30 seconds. Flip your fabric and repeat this process…which I forgot to do! Lol!
End result: Well after watching Andrie Designs video again, not sure my finish is as smooth and shiny as hers! But..I went ahead and started my classic zip around wallet!
Deciding on zipper color can be challenging 😂
Ready for the “false stitching” top stitching around the edge. First picture is more color accurate!
Stay tuned for part 2!