Sheet Sources: White, 100-percent-cotton flat sheets make the best base. The biggest trick can be finding sheets not sold in a set. Project designer Jeni Wright likes JC Penney for this option—and for its economical price point. A free option: Ask hotels for the torn or stained sheets they toss out. You can cut around tears and dye over any stains.

Color in a Cinch: Forget messy memories of stained hands—and bathtubs—from dunking fabrics to dye them. Today’s dye products, such as iDye dissolvable packets by Jacquard (see jacquardproducts.com), do all the work in the washing machine.

Fiber-Friendly Paint: Scoping out the crafts and art supply stores for paints specifically made for fabric is logical for these types of projects. But if you’ve got a rainbow of acrylics already piled on the crafts table at home, pick up a bottle of acrylic medium to mix into these paints. It makes the acrylic paint dry soft on fabric and, when heat-set, can be washable.

Next: Easy Artwork