A Coloring on Fabric Tutorial

 

Our suggestions and tips for coloring on fabric are as follows:

• Use 100% cotton fabric – polyester and poly blends do not work as well
• Use colored pencils, crayons, fabric markers, erasable markers or erasable crayons
• Heat setting is a good idea to effectively set the color
• Always heat set before washing the embroidered book or pages
• Test the pencils, crayons or fabric markers on the same fabric that the embroidery designs are stitched on

Techniques

Colored Pencils

• Use a sharp colored pencil to color in the embroidered lines and then heat set with a hot iron and press cloth.
• The colored pencil will appear lighter than what was originally colored, so press hard when coloring for a darker look.

Crayons

• Use regular crayons for this technique.
• Color directly onto the fabric between the embroidered lines with the crayon and then heat set.
• For a tinted look, use a white crayon first and color over it with other crayon colors. For a more blended look, use the white crayon over the colored crayons. If you want shading effects, use a small amount of black crayon. Be careful as the black can be overpowering. Experiment on a test piece of fabric first.

Fabric Markers

• We recommend Fabrico markers, because they have a brush end and a fine tip end, and they last longer.
• Color in the embroidered lines and heat set.

Erasable Markers and Crayons

• Color in the embroidered lines.
  
  
• Do not heat set.
• When ready for a different color, wash according to the instructions on the package of the erasable markers or crayons. You may need to press the pages after washing and drying.
  
  

The most important tip is to test your chosen technique or coloring method on a test piece of fabric first.

Be creative and enjoy coloring linework embroidered designs and have fun experimenting with your favorite technique. Happy stitching and coloring!

 

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