janeknapp

SewExtreme.
I'm glad you are keeping up updated about your daisy.
Is your injection for macular degeneration? We have two friends who do this, too.

Jane

SewExtremeSeams

Hi Jane, just came back from the eye injection... not bad at all. PTL No, I have branch retinol vein occlusion.

I was concerned that my vision would be blurry after the injection but it isn't, so I will get to continue working on my daisy. Yippeee!

debbieumphress

Wow nice. I have got to try this,

janeknapp

I just read...

Use the outliner pencil to create outlines of your design to prevent your colors from running into one another. It is permanent, even when water is applied.

I haven't tried this with water. I'm doubting but hopeful.

SewExtremeSeams

Here is the progress of my daisy. Yes, when I touched a well wetted brush to my colored pencil and applied it to the cloth it did run a bit. However, I think it added some shading to the daisy.

I added color to the center but it still isn't where I want it to be, so will have to play with it somemore. It is a learning experience so I am not too concerned about possibly ruining it. :-D

PS: I have been referring to this flower as my daisy but it is a sunflower from my garden... silly me!

janeknapp

Regarding the outliner pencil that is included with some of the Inktense sets... the line drawn with this pencil did not prevent colors from running into each other on fabric. It may do this on paper, however.

Linda, it's good to try techniques. I colored and then added water to the background of an iris, and it didn't turn out dark enough. So I will have to work on that again. You might need to do that to your background, too, depending on the look you want. I usually like full color saturation...no white fabric showing unless it is supposed to be white.

janeknapp

I love the Loew Cornell brushes for this technique. I bought a set of four from Michaels for use on fabric, but Michaels doesn't carry that brand now. The Art Minds brand Michael's sells is not quite as stiff as I like for this technique. I ordered individual brushes from Dharma Trading Company to add more sizes to my original set.

Order the Loew Cornell flat and round fabric painting brushes from Dharma.
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3260-AA.shtml

The flat brushes 2, 4, 6, and 8 and the round brushes 10/0, 5/0, 0, and 2 are the ones that I prefer for the work I am doing.

Here is what Dharma says about Brushes For Fabric Painting:

Fabric painting brushes need to be stiffer, so you can press the paint into the fabric. Fabric paints have to be pressed down into the fabric as they are painted on. If you just lay a bead or layer on the surface, it will not grip the fibers and therefore will flake or chip off.

Silk Brushes vs. Fabric Brushes
Silk brushes are soft and soak up large amounts of dye. They are used for filling in areas and watercolor painting. Fabric brushes are stiffer than silk brushes, which helps to force paint or dye into the weave of fabric.

janeknapp

Even though the description for these brushes is about using fabric paint, I need this kind of brush to push the gel into the fiber. The softer bristles just don't do the job.

SewExtremeSeams

Last night I tossed my yellow daisy piece into the wash with some clothes. Every bit of color held tight!

I have been following your directions, Jane, with the aloe vera gel and heat setting it. :-D

janeknapp

Linda, I've discovered that you don't need to heat set these, but now I know they will go through the wash. Thanks for running that test. Just be sure they are fully dry before washing off the gel. I just wash my pieces with my finger tips in a 9 x 13 cake pan and 2" of water.

Of course, with pressing cloths (muslin) on both sides you can iron the ink dry after applying the gel and after washing off the gel. That way you can proceed faster with your project.