Here is basic information about how I use Derwent Inktense Pencils on fabric.

Go to "colored pencils and quilting" page 21 on this message board to find a post/download by me which includes websites for procuring supplies and information about using these pencils.

outstanding tute! :thumbup:

lots of specific details. :-)

Thanks you so much for the 2 posts lately using these pencils. I had been gathering articles from everywhere on the best methods I could find to do something like this. Now I know exactly what I'll use :) :). Thanks!

thank you

super!

Thanks for the tutorial. Hope to try this in the future.

Thanks for the tut. will look into this

Thanks Jane!

Here is my humble 'beginnings' of using Inktense Pencils. I started with a photo I had taken from my garden and copied it onto fabric.

Now that I have colored, put aloe vera gel on it, dried it, heat set it, rinsed and dried it again, I am ready to add more color and shading to it.

SewExtreme, that looks great! I can't wait to see what comes next. I love the center of your flower. Did you use a pencil there, too?

ok Im hooked. I didn't know this stuff was out there and I thought I knew all the neat stuff.

Linda, your flower and using colored pencils reminds me of the 'Venus of Paradise' coloring projects I bought when I was a very young teenager.

How awesome to reproduce such beauty for a quilt project.

Looking forward to seeing the complete flower.

Blessings,
Sandi

I made this Zentangle Leaf with the pencils and used the Pentel Gel Roller for Fabric pen to outline in black. The pen works great on fabric; it rolls so smoothly with the lightest touch. I used all of one pen and a little from another, so a project like this can really "eat up" the ink. I ordered two boxes of 12 each, so I'm set for the near future. After doing the search below I could have bought them for less, but I got free shipping at the Amazon site.

Web search for Pentel Gel Roller for Fabric pen

Review of Pentel Gel Roller for Fabric - It was mentioned that this pen is at Hobby Lobby.
http://3creativestudios.com/blog/201...er-for-fabric/

This is where I learned about these pens:
http://tanglepatterns.com/tips-tools...re/fabric-pens

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...ler+for+fabric
$1.68 each - Box of 12
http://www.amazon.com/Roller-Fabric-...1762616&sr=8-2

$1.59 each
http://www.csnstores.com/Pentel-of-A...A-UHU1327.html

$1.42 each
http://www.officeslide.com/pentel-ge...ffice-products

$1.40 each
http://www.honestoffice.com/pentel-g...pen-for-fabric
http://ibuyofficesupply.com/Products..._PENBN15A.aspx

$1.30 each
http://www.officespecialties.com/pen...41718_prd1.htm

$1.29 - $1.27 discounted prices for multiples
http://www.govgroup.com/gel-roller-p...75318-prd1.htm

Wow Jane your leaf is awesome.

Blessings,
Sandi

Thanks for the info on the Inktense pencils. I bought some at a booth at the Paducah Quilt Show this past April. Good timing on the tuttorial.

I use the Sakura Gelly Roll Pens for my labels. They work the same and are cheaper. The leaf and sunflower projects are beautiful. Thanks for the tutorial on the pencils. I've been wanting to give them a try.

Thank you. I am hoping to get that exact (or something really close) look of the flower center. On the whitish dots I was thinking of using a few little beads to give it dimension. Yes, I did use pencil in the center. I was both surprised and delighted that it came out the way it did. Lots to learn here. Can't wait myself. :-D

Jane, how do you suggest that I go about darkening the flower center but still making it look like the real flower with spikes? In real life the center is like a round mound with pins poked in it, basically.

Oh Jane, your Zentangle leaf is gorgeous. You know, that is the other art form I want to use in quilting. So cool. :-D

Try experimenting with a practice piece of fabric where you have colored in some spikes. If you are wanting the background behind the spikes to be darker, use a pencil to color lightly and then gel. You might want to use a colored pencil on the back and then add gel. I haven't done this...just thinking it might work to darken from the back.

You could use a wet brush on the tip of a pencil in the desired color to remove some color. Place it in a drop of water. Test on practice fabric. Add more color if needed. Brush the colored water onto the fabric.

You may need to darken the spikes with another color. Let me know how it works.

For anyone that is a member at qnntv.com the "Quilt It" show has a woman that colors whole cloth's. Very pretty. Her name is Irena Bluhm.

Your tute was great. The kids did an outstanding job. Your work is so beautiful.

In a class with Velda Newman (where I first tried Inktense pencils and acrylic paint on fabric), one of the students dipped the tip of a retracted ball point pen into white acrylic paint and made dots on the back of her starfish! It looked "beaded" when she was done, but much faster! She used undiluted acrylic paint.

I haven't ever used acrylic paint on fabric...only Pebeo Transparent Setacolor. I'm not sure I could get the same effect with the transparent paint.

So many good things out there. Thanks for sharing.

what is the difference in using the gel pens VS. using the micron pens that are made for fabric?

I use a Emery cloth covered board under my fabric and the microns go on smooth as well!

you can see her stuff here...

http://www.irenabluhmscreations.com/

after looking at the Back of her quilts that she had hanging in our OKC winter show...I was not impressed with her work...she colors after quilting..and you could see areas that were heavier. bled through, etc...

so these pens only come in 3 colors?

if you look on this web page I have included here, and scroll down, you will see that they come in sets of 6, 12, 24, 36 or 72 and also you can purchase individual pencils. '

http://www.dickblick.com/products/de...tense-pencils/

Some of the sets are also availabe at Michael's, Amazon, Hobby Lobby and I am sure at other art supply stores and online. :-D

the pencils do, but the gel roller pens for fabric apparently only come in blue, black and red!

Is that correct? That is all I have found anywhere anyway!

I've only found those three colors.

The Pentel gel roller for fabric pen worked better for adding the tangle patterns to my Zentangle leaf than the Sakura Micron Pigma pens. The ink flowed with just the lightest touch. The Pigma pens are "more scratchy." However, the Pigma pens will work.

Sounds like a very doable project. thank you :thumbup:

Jane, my daisy is coming along. Will try to post an update photo tomorrow before my fun begins. I am having an injection in my right eye. Sounds like fun, huh?

One thing I tried last night was brushing water on a blue Inktense pencil to make a light blue wash to look like the sky. It worked very well. :thumbup: I have a lot to learn! But, having fun in the process. :thumbup:

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

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!

Wow nice. I have got to try this,

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.