If you enjoy using painting markers to create beautiful designs on fabric, then it obviously helps to know what the best types of fabric are for such a painting style. Some fabric styles are absolutely perfect for painting markers, while others are not so good. For example, soft tight grain fabrics are great for painting markers because the tight stitching creates a flat canvas like texture. Hard loose grain fabric, however, is going to create gaps and pockets that will not allow the painting marker to create such a seamless and unbroken image. In the article below we’ll walk you through the 10 best secrets to choosing the right fabric for your painting marker artistic works. If you are interested in buying professional painting marker sets then be sure to visit CraftOnline and browse through their huge product selection.
10 Secrets To Choose Fabric for Painting Marker
- 100 Percent Cotton Works Great – If you have ever used a painting marker before then you know that one of the very best fabrics to use is 100 percent cotton. Cotton has a soft tight grain stitching making it very similar to a totally flat canvas-like surface. The tight stitching has almost no sizable gaps in the fabric so you are able to use your painting markers to create seamless and fluid imagery. A cotton t-shirt is a great place to use your painting markers.
- Choose Fabric That Won’t Bleed Colors – Some fabric choices like polyester or other petroleum-based fabric products will bleed painting marker colors much more so than cotton, wool, or other absorbable fibers. The reason for this is that polyester and other petroleum or plastic based fabrics have far more dense fibers, making it much harder for the painting marker to penetrate them. With cotton or wool, the paint will absorb fully into the fabric fiber, whereas with denser fibers the paint will coat the fibers and then eventually run off partially or fully.
- Fade-proof Fabric is Ideal – When selecting a fabric ideal for paint markers you want to choose a fabric that will retain the colors and not cause them to fade over time. The organic fabrics like silk, wool, and cotton typically hold the painting marker colors longer and are less prone to fade. Plastic or petroleum-based fabrics on the others are very dense and it is hard for the paint to fully absorb into the really dense fabric fibers. For that reason, really dense fibers are more prone to fading.
- Select The Correct Fabric Grain – When choosing an ideal painting marker fabric is it best to use a tight grain fabric, as opposed to a loose grain fabric. A tight grain fabric will create a much smoother and flatter surface due to the fabric fibers being much closer together. A loose grain fabric, however, will allow much more space between individual fibers, making the surface of the fabric much rougher. A tight fabric grain will work better every time.
- Test a Fabric First – Regardless of the type of fabric that you choose to use for your painting markers, it is a great idea to test it out first. Make every attempt to get your hands on a sample piece of test fabric so that you know how your painting markers will look on it. Once you have tried the markers out on a test fabric piece, you will have a much better idea of what to expect with the actual fabric selection that you will be painting on.
- Choose a Big Enough Piece of Fabric – If you have a specific design in mind then make sure that you choose a fabric size that will allow you to create your whole design on it. You would be shocked at how many painting marker artists fail to choose an adequately sizes fabric piece to fit their whole design on to. Take careful measurements beforehand just to make sure that your fabric piece is perfectly sized.
- Soft Fabric Works Well – When it comes to absorbing the painting marker colors you will definitely find that soft fabric works the best. Most soft fabrics are made with organic materials such as silk, cotton, wool, or even hemp. Synthetic fabrics tend to be much harder due to their individual fibers being far denser. The golden rule with painting markers is the softer the better. Soft fabric will also retain the colors much longer and be far more resistant to fading.
- Think Outside of The Box – When it comes to selecting a fabric type, try to think outside of the box. While painting markers will work great on a 100 percent cotton t-shirt, the markers will also work great on organic hemp shoes. The more willing you are to branch out and explore new and exotic fabric types, the better your chances will be of striking gold and finding that one perfect fabric type that your painting marker designs look the best on.
- White or Light Colors Work The Best – Typically, lighter colored fabrics work the best for painting markers. White, light yellow, off white, gray, light pink, sky blue, and tan are all ideal fabric colors to paint on. The lighter the color the more the overlying painting marker colors will stand out, especially if you are using dark or bright painting marker colors. White fabric is by far the most popular color of fabric for painting marker artists.
- Dark or Black Fabric Works Well Too – Very dark colored fabrics work great as a canvas for painting markers, however, you really need to do well with picking the appropriate colors. For example, if you were to use a black cotton fabric then you should consider using lighter and brighter painting marker colors. Colors such as pastels, neon colors, or even white all stand out and look great painted over a black fabric canvas. Fluorescent colors also work extremely well on black or dark colored fabric.
