Are colored sharpie markers colorfast?
 

sewnsewer2 is making me a label for a quilt I'm making (see pic). She made some "practice" pieces of the little girl for me to see how to modify the girl, e.g. want her to have red hair, etc. I thought I might be able to embroider (by hand) the hair but then thought I'd like to color other things on the girl, e.g. the flower, her dress, shoes etc. but what to use? Would the Sharpie colored markers be colorfast, not fade or bleed? Or is there something else that would be better. I could try using crayons and set them but want more vivid colors. Suggestions? Thanks!!!

Sharpies bleed badly on fabrics. Ask me how I know. I would get a set of fabric paint markers. Whatever you use, don't let the point sit on the fabric because it will soak in. Some people use the crayons, but I do like the more vivid colors. Let the finished piece air dry over night or a couple of night, then press from the back side with a hot iron. But a piece of muslin or something so that the colors don't transfer to your ironing board.

Can't wait to see what they look like all 'prettied up'. Be sure to post pictures.

all of the sharpies I have seen were Permanent- but check the package to make sure- just because I haven't seen any doesn't mean they don't have some wash out ones. as for bleeding---they do not 'bleed' as in run onto other areas-fabrics- but they do tend to *get fuzzy* edges when used on fabric- I would test on a scrap before using on the 'real' label to see how much & if it's acceptable. there are many, many fabric markers on the market- that are made for fabric, color fast & don't 'fuzz' - they allow nice clear lines- but If you are using them to color in areas the sharpies may work just fine. you can get fine point sharpies now- I haven't tried those to see how clear the lines are.

Sharpies will bleed when you're working with them. I use fabric markers, either Micron Pigma when I want a thin sharp line, or Fabrico or FabricMate which have more of a brush tip and let you fill in larger areas.

Andi

It says right on the package: Not for fabric.

I have used Sharpies for lots of fabric applications. Some of the colors, especially the reds, can bleed. And yes, I have even made quilt labels with them. (Don't tell the quilt police). I do avoid the reds, of course. I heat set with a HOT iron and always hand wash the label separately before attaching it to the quilt, just in case. I've never had any major problems. The lighter colors do tend to fade somewhat with washing. None of my quilts are much more than 10 years old, but the labels I've made that way are still very colorful and completely legible.

You will get varying opinions and claims, but regular Sharpie markers are not intended to be colorfast, waterfast or lightfast on fabric and they do not mark with a clean edge, meaning they spread out as you mark fabric with them.Stained by Sharpie, however, is made especially for use on fabric and has none of the disadvantages of their regular markers. They come in eighht colors and can be found at office supply and art supply stores and online.http://www.dickblick.com/products/sh...abric-markers/

I love the look of crayons, have seen lots of beautiful embroidery where they used crayons also. Check out Crab Apple Hills web site. Its easy to do too.

I was introduced to a technique using colored pencils - just crayola pencils. They color beautifully, you can go over the color to makr it darker and then paint with a fabric fixative to make permanent.

I have used ink tense colored pencils with a fabric medium that makes them permanent, they are very vivid in color. Michaels arts and crafts sales them they are made by Derwent. I loved how bright they stayed even after they were washed!