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How do you use fabric pastels?

Published in Fabric Painting 2 mins read

Using fabric pastels, like Fabric Fun pastel dye sticks, is a simple process to create your own designs on natural, absorbent fabrics. Here's a step-by-step guide:

How to Apply Fabric Pastels

  1. Prepare Your Fabric: Select a natural, absorbent fabric, like cotton or linen. Ensure it's clean and dry.

  2. Create Your Design:

    • Directly draw your design onto the fabric using the fabric pastels.
    • Feel free to experiment with different colors and patterns.
  3. Fixing the Design:

    • Optional Adjustment: If you are not satisfied with your design when wet, you can wash it out.
    • Heat Setting: Cover your pastel design with a piece of tea towel or paper.
    • Iron over the tea towel/paper with a hot iron. The heat will permanently set the colors into the fabric.

Tips for Using Fabric Pastels

  • Test: It's always good to test the pastels on a scrap of fabric first to get a feel for how they apply and how the colors look.
  • Light Colors: Keep in mind that pastel colors might appear lighter on dark fabrics, which may affect visibility.
  • Even Pressure: Use a consistent amount of pressure while drawing to get even coloring.
  • Layering: You can layer colors to create different shades and blends, however, excessive layering can lead to issues, so test first.
Step Action
1. Prepare Fabric Select clean, dry, and absorbent natural fabric.
2. Draw Design Directly apply fabric pastels onto fabric creating desired artwork.
3. Optional Adjust Wash design out while wet to correct or redo.
4. Heat Set Cover with tea towel/paper and iron to make permanent.

Fabric pastels are an easy and enjoyable way to personalize textiles, allowing for creative expression on a variety of items such as clothing, bags, and home decor.