Santa brought me a large pack of Inktense pencils by Derwent, so I decided to stitch a block design using my new IQ, and then paint it. This is a work in progress (WIP), but I thought I would share a tutorial.
What you need:
Inktense set of pencils (comes in different sized packs. I own a 36 set and a 24 set)
Small fabric brushes (bought at Michaels. Read the label as it will say it is used on fabric)
Stitched quilted fabric design (I used a digital design by Karen McTavish, but you could stitch a stencil or any design.)
Fabric or Textile medium- I used 2 types on the sample- Aloe Vera gel and Liquidtex Fabric Medium diluted 50/50% with water (see baby jar in photo above). Jo Sonja also makes a fabulous medium for use on fabric, some with added sheen. (Google “Jo Sonya” to buy online).
Pencil sharpener
_________________________________ Let’s Begin!
Step One: Stitch your fabric first. This is a quilted project, so use any high quality fabric. I used whatever I had on hand. For the design portion, you may use any design available- either hand-drawn, digitized or a stencil. My sample uses a Karen McTavish design stitched out on my A1 brand of longarm quilting machine using an Intelliquilter (IQ).
Step Two: Using your diluted fabric/textile medium or aloe vera gel, carefully saturate the quilted fabric design where you plan to paint. I discovered through trial and error that the diluted fabric medium worked best and dried less stiff than either the full strength fabric medium or the aloe vera gel. Use what works best for you.
Step Three: While your quilted fabric area is wet, carefully color in using the Inktense pencils. I used 2-3 colors on my sample.
Step Four: Last step, you dip your brush in the diluted fabric/textile medium and carefully blend the Inktense colors. Go slow, and strive for accuracy. Once dry, the Inktense is permanent, according to the manufacturer. In the future, I plan to test this by washing and drying a test sample, then comparing to my control sample.
That’s all you do! Very easy, beginner project. Here is the finished piece:
This is just a test sample, so I think I will keep it green/white, then frame it for my studio. In the future, one of my goals is to do a wholecloth quilt design.
Final Note: In the spirit of giving credit where credit is due, the first artist to color a quilt (that I am aware of) is Helen Stubbings from Australia. Helen has been most generous to share her Colorque technique with others, many who now show and teach across the US. You can purchase Helen’s book from Amazon here.
Another shout out to Sherry Rogers-Harrison, who uses a variety of products in her Inklique work to color quilts. I hope you will visit both websites if you have enjoyed my free tutorial.
Regards, Carla
Carla Barrett 