Thank you for the explanation Judith.

I've never done it on quilt fabric, but have often done it on 100% cotton tee shirts. I get inexpensive tees and it's a hit for the kids to do at the cottage. One thing we do is lightly color the whole background area with different colors. Spray heavily with alcohol, then cover with bunched up plastic wrap and let it dry. It gives a marbleized background. Then draw your design and spray. If you are not artistic, you can put a line drawing, like a coloring book page under the fabric. You can just color in the lines. You can control the amount of bleed by the amount of alcohol sprayed. You can let it dry and reapply more color as many times as you want. when completed, I use a dry iron and a press cloth over & under the fabric. You loose a small amount of color when you launder (cold), but it stays amazingly well.

Great technique! Your cards look great!

I have to limit the amount of alcohol I imbibe while I have a sharpie in my hands. If not...I come out looking like a 2 year old who got into the markers! LOL

Seriously, I have never done the alcohol/sharpie coloring method. I do love, love, love the way it looks, Judith! I used to use watercolor markers, coffee filters and water to make "butterflies" when my kids were very young. (Color the filters, spritz with water, let dry. Then gather center with pipe cleaner to make antennae.)

A couple of questions, Judith: what type of fabric do you use? Do you prewash?

TIA

I don't prewash. But, It could make a difference with the fabric you use. And, On all those cards, it was just 100 percent cotton fabric. And, on several, it was just an inexpensive muslin. I had just started experimenting and didn't want to invest a lot of money for something that didn't work.

LOL :D . Thanks for the laugh.

Thank you.

Wow, Judith, this is a great idea! Looks like real fun. Your cards are beautiful!


I love the t-shirt idea also. I really miss the '60s tie-dye shirts.

This looks like a fun technique. I have it on my ever growing bucket list. Thank you for showing your work.