Method Monday, No. 10, Handbag Lifesaver.....Odicoat to the Rescue!

 When I found out about Odicoat....I was very excited

It is a game changer, because it waterproofs fabric.

And when you make handbags....that is pretty cool!!

I actually heard about Odicoat 1.5 years ago, but I was not paying much attention.  I saw a friend of mine mention it...but I did not look to see what she was brushing on her fabric.

Odicoat is made in France.

I could not wait to try this stuff!!  

Here are the first little bags I made for a dear friend with

Odicoat coated fabric.  

I have a couple of tips when using this wonderful stuff! 

When you get Odicoat, it comes with this plastic card that is important to coat textured fabric.

For a smoother fabric like this Home Dec I like foam brushes.

You can use regular brushes...just be careful with the hair that sheds from brushes....they can become part of the landscape that you are coating.

Make sure to iron your fabric so that it is smooth and easier to coat.

De-lint your fabric of bits of threads, or they will be coated down.

Odicoat is a big gel like glob.

The foam brush makes it easy to grab a hunk of Odicoat.

I put it down on the fabric, then I grab a bit from the hunk and I start brushing it on.

I would wear gloves...it is sticky like glue, and you will want to hold the fabric down, and brush away from that point.  The foam brush is helpful to push the gel into the fabric so that it is saturated.

The plastic card is helpful to saturate heavily textured fabric. 

I use plastic garbage bags to back the fabric I am coating.

After you have your entire piece coated, it must dry for 24 hours.

Then you can add an additional coat.

I know that some people do 3 coats, but I think 2 is enough, just make sure you did not miss any spots.

Keep your eyes peeled for the fabric being lighter in color, there is a chance that lighter spot did not get coated.

This is hand dyed brocade that I had to use the card on...it made

 a  huge difference in the application of Odicoat.

Here is another brocade that I hand-dyed.

The Odicoat is marvelous....when I work this hard to make beautiful textiles,

I love that I can protect them.

Odicoat will give you a durable coat on fabric that is water resistent.

But if you would like it to be waterproof, you will have to seal the coat with an iron.

You will need to protect your fabric from the iron, they recommend parchment paper.

A cheaper alternative is to use freezer paper, and I would recommend to use it on both sides of the coated fabric to protect the ironing surface, and the iron.  Make sure the waxed side it toward the coated fabric.

The iron should be on medium heat. Gently iron the fabric.

Then let it cool before manipulating the fabric.

The fabric can still be laundered if needed.

I ran water on the fabric here.

The water was dried off with a paper towel.

Here is another textured fabric that I Odicoated!!

One last tip.....

Soooo, the other night I coated 1.5 yards after fabric.

The next night (yes it was 24 hours later), I found the jar of Odicoat...with out the lid on.

I almost cried because it is expensive....

When I picked up the jar...I saw that the Odicoat was still a gel mass...maybe the layer was "stiffer", but not hard...as you would expect.

I put a little water into the jar, and stirred it to mix the water in....it worked.  I used that jar tonight to coat the fabric for this post!!

SO...go get some of this cool stuff. It works and it is pretty wonderful!!