Drawing and colouring your work with Crayola crayons.
 

Some of you have asked how I do pictures for the quilts I make, and therefore here is the way I proceed to make the cotton squares come to life.

I like to doodle and draw out my drawings onto sketchbook paper first .

I wash, dry and press the white cotton fabric, then cut into 10 inch squares.

I place a fabric square onto my drawing and transfer the design using a light box.

I use a friction pen to outline the image.....if you use a Friction pen you cannot use your iron once you have the design on the cotton, or your image will disappear.

You will need to use Crayola Crayons only.

Once you have coloured in your picture, you can press your picture, at this point you will need to lay a piece of paper towels or a Kleenex on your fabric, and give it good press with your Iron to pick up the extra crayon wax and this will also set the wax. You do not want to get this excess wax on your iron.

Sometimes, I use draftsman pencils #2 to transfer my design, these pencils are available from your office supply shop. Do not press hard so as to leave dark outlines. If you get the lines too dark, use a pink eraser to lighten the lines.

Once I have my main featured character or picture onto the square, then I drawn in any background features, like trees, clouds, grass, rocks, bullrushes, barns, fences, flowers, etc. and again colour them with the crayons crayons.

Crayola crayons are wax based, and if you colour in circles, then you don't get lines showing on your fabric. You can keep adding colour until you get the desired amount onto your cotton picture. If you add more colour always, cover with paper towel/keenex and pick up the excess wax and again set it using the iron.

I completed the quilting design using my bernina sewing machine, with the hopping foot attached and stitched the McTavishing design to quilt these two baby quilts. Leah Day has a video on the web to show how to do this quilting design.[ATTACH=CONFIG]579028[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]579029[/ATTACH] It doesn't show any mistakes, and you don't have to worry about which direction do I go now.....

You could also draw out simple designs for babies, balls, rattles, stick people and stick animals, flowers, and many other ideas, just use your imagination and have fun with it.

I have not had anyone come back and tell me that the pictures wash out.

moderator ETA: see also post #16

Thank you so much for this tutorial. I have always wanted to try this but didn't know how to take the second step. My first step was to purchase the Crayola Crayons.

thanks for taking the time to post this tutorial

My quilt guild does Storybook quilts for our elementary school libraries and I have created 2 using the crayons. It's fun to go back to my childhood sometimes! I'm attaching pictures of the two. Thanks for the tutorial. There are some things I did not do, like taking off excess wax after each color.[ATTACH=CONFIG]579052[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]579053[/ATTACH]

Your drawings are so cut and artistic. You should design coloring books for children. I would buy them.....Jane

Thank you for the tutorial....now if I could only draw. I'll have to find a way to try this even if I have to trace a picture. Haha.

Your artwork is so nice!

Your tutorial sounds very doable - i might try it with just shapes and see what happens.

this is very neat.. I can see me trying this sometime when I have the courage :)

thank you for taking the time to explain how to do this. It is beautiful and seems doable if I find the courage to try it!

Oh I love these! With the school supplies out in force in the stores, I've run out and bought a box of crayons!

Great tutorial. Love coloring on my art quilts.

This is beautiful work. Thank you for the tutorial.

I've used this technique with school children as well. I had them draw an image (such as a house). Then I traced each picture with a permanent black fabric pen (after ironing on a piece of freezer paper to the back*). Then they colored their picture in with Crayolas and I heat set with paper towels as you described. One year we made little pillows from their designs. It was a fun and satisfying project. You could do this with your own children's or
grandchildren's pictures.

*The freezer paper makes it easier to color. It gives the fabric more stability.

Thanks for this info- I am definitely going to try it

Please note additional info to Crayola Crayons colouring for drawn pics onto Blocks.
 

Thanks to Lots2do, for giving me permission to add this important information into the tutorial when colouring your hand drawn blocks utilizing crayola crayons. You can also use full sheet blank labels made by office works if your block will be handled many many times.

Very nicely done.

Thanks so much for this! I have a pattern from Black Cats that are cats in the garden but had forgotten the best way to do the coloring so this is really timely!

What a great project. That's another to add to my must try someday list! ha ha

I want to make a quilt for a grandchild and outline all the pictures first with black...like a coloring book...then give the pics to family to color n and sign...what pen would you use for the outlining? Thank you for you tute...very helpful.

what a charming technique. I love it.....

Wow .... I never knew you could do this! This has opened a whole new world for me!!!!

Thank you

Thanks so much!!!! This is wonderful information!!!

Thanks for taking the time to write this out. Definitely something I want to try.

Watson

Such a neat idea. Does the base square have to be white? BrendaK

Thanks for this tutorial. My DD was helping watch children during and adult bible study time and needed an idea to keep the children busy. I suggested she draw pictures on mens cotton hankies and let the children color them. The children had a fun time w/this and the parents loved the hankies.

you make it look so easy

I would love to do this for a baby quilt, but wonder how it will stand up to multiple washings?

What an adorable quilt! And I love using crayons to color when I am doing hand embroidery.

Great tutorial and I love your work. How about people like me who can't draw to save their lives? :D