Cami from “Tidbits” is back today…..and I couldn’t be more excited! She has created the coolest marble effect on fabric, using SHAVING CREAM!! I know, so weird, but the result is amazing! And she’s done all of the hard work and experimenting for us. Check out all these cool ways to marble your fabric!
-Ashley
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Hello again! It’s Cami, from Tidbits – and I am thrilled to be here today!
Perhaps, I am even more than thrilled. I am here to share a project with you which I absolutely fell in LOVE with! Did you know you could fall in love with a project? For me, I know it is true love when a wet load of laundry sits in the washer for 3 days straight. I know it is true love when I tell my kids we are not going to swimming lessons for the day because I want to work on my project. I know I am deeply in love when that disgusting fast food joint down the road is our dinner 2 nights in a row.
Yes, my friends. That is true love.
Now, if you too are craving a little “project love” in your life, I am convinced that after you discover what you can do with a can of shaving cream and some fabric paint . . . . . . . . . we will all be running the same load of wet stinky laundry, over and over again.
- Shaving Cream
- Any name or brand. Though I recommend avoiding the color tinted varieties.
- Fabric Paint
- The ‘Tulip’ brand is my go-to brand. Mostly because I can find it at any craft store or Wal-Mart.
- Pan of some sort to spray the shaving cream in.
- Garbage bag
- Ruler with metal edge
- Fabric
- I only tested on white cotton fabric. It would be fun to try it on other kinds as well.
- Toothpicks or Pencil
- These are for swirling the paint. For a finer swirl use the toothpicks. I prefer the look of the eraser end of a pencil.
- Sink (somewhere nearby)
- Iron/Ironing board/pressing cloth
Begin by spraying your surface (in this case a pan) with shaving cream. Rub it around until you have a thick enough layer to cover the bottom of the pan completely (or for the most part). And yes, I used a glove to touch the shaving cream. I have issues.

Contrast this with the fabric sample I marbled for the instructions. They pretty much appear the same as the method in which I marbled.

Even though it looks nothing like it when you lift the fabric from the shaving cream. Somehow the paint soaks in place and shaving cream acts as a stabilizer for the paint. So fun!!
Tip #3: Find the perfect color combo before you commit to a project.
Tip #5: Lay the paint on thick or thin.




And then I did it again and again. (The pink heart was a little hard to see so I used a fabric marker to outline it.)
And that’s it! Pretty cool, right?
Happy Marbling!! -Cami
Thanks for checking out my How to Marble Fabric (with shaving cream!!) post. Check out my full collection of DIY Sewing articles. Find even more sewing projects, patterns, and tips for beginners and advanced sewists by Liz Call, Mariah Leeson, Randi Dukes and Tauni Everett.
Amazing! This is really cool. Will definitely try this when I have a spare moment. x
You most definitely should! Be careful though – it is addicting!!
Great tutorial! I love that you did this and enjoyed it so much that you wanted to share.
Truly did enjoy it! I hope others have fun with it as well.
I knew how to do the little pieces and that was fun … for a while. But you are a GENIUS for showing us how to do GARMENT SIZE pieces. Thanks so much. My granddaughter will LOVE this since she wanted to make a skirt but we couldn’t figure out how to marble the whole thing !!!
Why thank you for the flattery! It really did take some brain power and a real sit down to figure out how to do a big piece. Ha! Though, make sure you have your granddaughters hands with you. I had to employ my 8 year old for help when lifting the large piece of fabric off of the shaving cream. Hope you guys have fun! You sound like a wonderful Grandma!!
I’ve done and loved this w/ paper – NEVER would have guessed r.e fabric! LOVE! Thanks for doing the trials for me! ;0
I know! Who knew! I am just wondering why it took me 2 years to think of. Thanks for commenting!!
I have enjoyed your crafts but this was really cute. I have done this on paper but not fabric. Gets a girl to thinking….great job! Thank you for sharing your great ideas, and also for you wit. I had to laugh about the rubber gloves and the shaving cream. My daughter cannot stand to have paper bags touch her.
Thank you so much! It does get the wheels turning doesn’t it. So many things to marble! I have never heard of paper bags bugging someone ….. and I have a lot of pet peeves! I am thinking they just might bug me now that you mention it ;) Thanks for stopping by!
in your instructions, you mentioned: “Let your paint dry on your fabric, and then heat set by placing a pressing cloth over the paint and pressing with a dry, hot iron”
my question is, did you mean once the paint dries, i have to place a cloth over the fabric that I just marbled and press with a dry, hot iron? will the cloth that i will placing over the marbled fabric get color?
thanks once for the great tutorial <3
Sorry for the confusion. Let me tell you what I do exactly. After I marbled the fabric, I let it dry good, either with time or a blow dryer. Then I place the fabric (paint side up) and place a scrap piece of fabric over the top of it. Basically, you don’t want your iron directly on the paint, because yes, it could bleed onto whatever is touching it. I have also heard you can throw it into a dryer for a bit on high heat, and it will do the same thing. You could read the instructions on the paint bottle for further clarifications.
Wax paper may work to set the paint instead of a cloth. I used to set paint in cloth using the waxed paper and an iron.
I love this project and cannot wait to try it on white onesies for my granddaughter! Also, your girls are adorable! Thank you for the tutorial…it was very clearly written with great pictures.
Onesies! That would be adorable!! I think my baby boy needs some ;)
I have a question, could we just put the shaving cream/ paint mixture right onto a large piece of fabric? I would love to make a t-shirt dress with this idea.
If I understood your question correctly, no I don’t think that will work. The shaving cream keeps the paint on top of the surface so you can dip something on top of it and the paint will adhere where you want it to. You could always experiment!
Cami, you did a great job with this tutorial! You now have a new subscriber to your blog, tidbits!
Thank you, Thank you! I feel like I do my best work when I am having fun.
Fantastic. My husband is now threatening to hide his shaving cream!
Haha! My husband came home one day wondering where his had all gone. Didn’t buy enough ;) Poor guys.
I am going to make Spirit shirts for my kids for school in their school colors. I already make Tutu skirts in spirit week and this would go great with it.
What a mama!! I bet this would be absolutely adorable for that. They won’t be like any of the other kids!
what a wonderful idea and thank you for the excellent tutorial. Great stuff.
I so appreciate that! Thank you for commenting!
This is so very CUTE! I’m working on a new winter wardrobe for my little and will be adding this to the mix. Thank You!
I’ve always wanted to make my kiddos a complete handmade wardrobe! Way to go mama!
I like to use a shower squeegee or a credit card for removing the marbling cream. The freezer paper works well or you can put the fabric in an embroidery hoop to get a circle. Remember when doing tshirts or 2 sided things to put a cardboard between the layers. Baby onesies look cute marbled or white shoes.
Wow!! Such great ideas! Sounds like you too have had some fun with this method! I am glad you mentioned the cardboard. I totally forgot to add that in the post.
You probably don’t hear it enough, but you are brilliant. And your post is so thorough. Thanks!
Ahhh geez! Thanks a bunch!
Amazing! This looks like a perfect end of summer activity! Thank you.
I’m working on a baby quilt and this would make the back fabulous! Thanks for the tutorial.
My Joey Scouts will be doing this on T Shirts. They are 6 and 7 year old boys and girls. They will love it. Make a mess and have something to show off as well.
Clever,clever paint process and so many cute projects! Just might have to buy my own can of shaving cream to play with. :)
Love it on the fabric! I’ve seen it on paper before, but not on fabric! the napkins are a great idea!
try marbling on a piece of ceramic bisque. it turns out just like your material. How would dark fabric look with very light colors?
Been looking to expand my on the side passion and wasnt able to find a medium that would give my whole Molten Artistry effect on fabric, till i discovered the shaving cream technique. I plan on making one of a kind cushion covers to sell along with my paintings at the local markets, wish me luck!!!!!
howdy!
all of the pictures of your lovely girls in their awesome shirts (and skirt!) are still loading on the site, but the super helpful pictures of your process are missing. is there any way to fix this?
Thank you for this tutorial :)
I have used it to marble some feathers, and works quite well too. If you want to see the result: https://beltaneh.deviantart.com/art/Marbled-feathers-542839579
Love this idea to try with my Ladies Craft group – 1 question however? Once heat fixed, is the garmet washable or is their some loss of colour/pattern?
What setting should you wash it at? Or does it not matter?