Sewing Fabric Postcards with ShereeSews: All about Fabric Marking on Fiber Postcards

October 2015
Sheree McKee
sewfabsew.blogspot.com

Keep your specialty markers away from family markers

or you might be disappointed when you really need them!

Eventually, you will need to address the back of your fiber postcards for correspondence and mailing. It's best to experiment with different marking methods as each type gives different results.

There are many marking options available, including permanent ink pens, gel pens, fabric markers, rubber stamp inks, inkjet transfer printing, inkjet direct printing and more. There are also white inks suitable for dark fabrics, and metallic inks for special touches.

Nancie V. used three colors of marker pens on fine cotton

Metallic options

Both my never-used whites failed to
write and appeared dried up!
Perhaps this color sits on the
store shelf too long with little demand

Since fabric postcards are never washed, you don't really have to worry about looking for permanent inks. However, permanent ink might not fade as fast as traditional markers.

Most fabric postcards are also made with textile backs. Some are created with card stock or different writeable surfaces. These varying backs can affect the quality of handwritten or printed text.

Cardstock with pigment ink and rubberstamp
Yes, you can stitch through card stock
I'll blog about that in the future!

Judy H. from Canada used
muslin backing and Zig
Memory System marker

Lynn J. used pen on card stock and a cute red rubberstamp

Sometimes I run into trouble when using fabric markers for writing my postcards out. This usually occurs when I attempt handwriting on rough fabric surfaces, but not on card stock or Tyvek postcard backs.

We've all spent time creating thoughtful fabric postcards to share with others, and it hurts when we spoil the backing. Here's some insight I've discovered ~

CHALLENGES:

Markers that blur, wick or run
Pens that skip in the middle of writing text
Dull ink without solid saturation or color
Uneven surface due to texture in the postcard front face

INKJOY test on fabric, I had to trace over twice
on the orange and green.
Not very saturated gel colors on fabric.

My Fav Sharpie Pen !

SOLUTIONS:

Try handwriting on plain cotton fabric BEFORE it is fused to the back of postcard, because synthetic fusibles often wick through fabrics during ironing, causing resistance.
Use high thread-count backing fabrics or microfibers for a smoother and a finer writing surface (See Denier details here)
Be aware that some synthetic fibers often repel inks, use natural fibers such as cotton, rayon, silk
Trace over text a second time (somewhat challenging)
Write slowly and evenly
Store your specialty pens away from family with tightly closed caps