I used the crayola brand with the quilt I made with students at school and then used an iron and ironed on to a brown paper bag to set the crayon into the fabric. I don't believe I washed the fabric first , but did iron it on freezer paper ( each square) so it was easier for the kids to draw and color his/her picture on to the fabric.

The special 'fabric crayons' are not permanent on cotton fabric. They are made for synthetics (for t-shirt quilts), not cotton. Regular Crayola crayons and Prang crayons have the most pigment and are the most recommended for use with fabric coloring. The fabric should be prewashed so the color adheres to the fibers better; prewashing removes all the finishes that block that adhesion. The freezer paper is used as a stabilizer on the back of the fabric to make it easier to color. Also, short strokes in one direction works best. Have fun.

Thank you Ghostrider for the clarification. I hadn't noticed that they were only meant for synthetic and poly-cotton blends. I would have used them on cotton so you saved me a lot of frustration, ehen I eventually get to this project :o)

Carole

Check out my friend, Katie's blog. She is getting ready to teach a class at the LQS. Look at this beautiful wall hanging or an iris she is working on. http://katiesquiltingcorner.com/

I have a quilt that my mother made in the early 1930's for a child's bed. It has several nursery rhymes on it illustrated in crayon and outlined in a running stitch. The fabric has worn out but the crayon colored illustrations are still in excellent shape! The colors are still bright. She did it with Crayola crayons on muslin. That makes the colors lasting 80 plus years.