about shop patterns projects printables extras sponsorship wild olive twitter flickr pinterest subscribe

tinting embroidery with colored pencils

colored pencil tinting


Yesterday I showed you a bit of crayon tinting, and today I have a similar technique, but with colored pencils. What I like about the pencils is that you can sharpen them for more detailed coloring, and they blend really well (especially with smooth fabric). You can use any kind of colored pencils for this, but I thought it was a good time to pull out some supplies I've had tucked away for a couple years.

colored pencil tinting

My dad and I went to an art show sponsored by Blick, where they had all kinds of vendors and lots of demonstrations. Prismacolor was there and they showed off these Art Stix. Essentially, they are the inside of a pencil, but in stick form. The representative showed all of their wonderful uses, and my dad and I were drooling. This is not a cheap set of supplies. And then...they did a drawing, and we won!

colored pencil tinting
colored pencil tinting

We brought the box home, played a bit with a few Art Stix, and then my dad told me to keep it with my supplies. And so they sat until I decided to try them out with some tinting. It's not the same as working with a pencil, but having a larger area to color with was nice!

colored pencil tinting

Like with the crayon tinting, start by tracing your pattern onto fabric, then place the fabric in a hoop.

colored pencil tinting
colored pencil tinting

Color gently, layering in the color. Try to keep the color smooth.

One of the fancy features of Art Stix, which also applies to Prismacolor pencils, is that when you get them wet, they color differently. Darker. This is really nice for adding some shading, while using the same color.

colored pencil tinting
colored pencil tinting

After ironing it, stitch the outline around your coloring!

I rather like how this Fast Food Bag came out! He's from my Take Me Out set, which is one of my favorites. Now, I just need to decide what he'll become...

Tinting with pencils as I've shown here is most suitable for wall art and pieces that won't be washed. If you want to make your work more permanent, I've read that textile medium does the trick. Just paint it on before your embroidery, let it thoroughly dry, then stitch. There's a good tutorial on Giggleface Studios. I haven't tried it yet, but I will soon!

Pull out your pencils and start coloring, but get ready to play with watercolor tinting tomorrow! (It's really cool!)

11 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hi! nice post! i like this idea as well...and here i thought i was the only one hoarding unused art supplies! i wanted to ask, kits used to be available a long time ago for embroidery where the backgrounds were partially colored in...do you know what i'm talking about? i used to know the name of the company, but it's escaping me now. i actually think the kits might be considered antiques by now, at the very least, vintage. i'd like to know how those were colored in. i own one, and they are very pretty. do you know anything about these? thanx!
    take care!
    debra

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a feeling those kits were commercially printed similarly to regular fabric printing. Maybe even screen printed. It's been a while since I've seen the kind you're talking about, but recently I saw a line of embroidery kits at Michaels and they have some pieces that come pre-printed.

      Delete
  3. Have you ever seen a product called "Inktense" by a company called Derwent? They are FABULOUS and I tint my embroideries with them all the time. You color in with them then wet them with a paint brush and once they dry they are permanent. You use aloe Vera gel instead of water if you need them to stay inside the lines. They come in pencil for and stick for and are great! I can send you some photos if you like!
    -Becky

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oooh...I've seen those, but didn't know they were permanent! thank you so much for the amazing tip!

      Delete
  4. Aaw...what a super-cute idea!! :) I think there may be some kind of sprayable fixative for this kind of thing, too - so it doesn't smudge. I've used the same kind of thing on paper before...love this, Mollie!

    ReplyDelete
  5. How cute is this hamburger? :O)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous1:55 AM

    wow Mollie! your blog is so cute! it's ok if I put you on "Awesome friends list"? www.holaparasiempre.com
    xx
    Sina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd LOVE to be one of your awesome friends!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:26 AM

      done! you are officially one of my awesome friends! :)

      Delete
  7. I LOVE prismacolor pencils!!! When I was MUCH younger (a-hem), I spent a long time collecting every possible color of them. Now the collection belongs to my 9 year old daughter. I have never considered using them for embroidery though. Ingenious!

    ReplyDelete

I often reply to comments in the comments...check back if you have a question!