This post is for those of you who haven’t yet discovered the magical autofade pen. It is a fibre tipped pen which can be used to trace or sketch out designs on fabric and paper. The violet coloured ink magically fades within 3-4 days or it can be removed immediately with water (see our page Prepare Design for Silk Painting, which also explains how to apply gutta outliner).
The autofade pen is an invaluable tool for silk painters, embroiderers, quilt makers, scrap bookers, dress makers and Batik artists. It can be used to sketch out designs before making permanent marks on precious fabrics and paper.
How we used the Autofade Pen
Here is a simple design for a flower using an autofade pen on our cotton canvas shopping bag. It doesn’t matter if the sketch looks scruffy because the lines are only there for guidance and the pen marks will fade away completely within 3-4 days.
See how we went from these simple flower sketches to a finished hand painted bag.
