Testing Polycolor Pencils on Fabric

In helping a student find a required oil-based pencil for a colored pencil on paper class, I came across this product which met her needs, and ofcourse, since it was new to me, I felt I must test it out on fabric.

I first drew 2 pinwheels using the same colors out of this sample set(ofcourse there are bigger sets). I colored both the same and heat set the one on the right for a later test using a dry cotton setting on my iron. (The directions on the pencil box do not call for heat setting but because this is going on fabric, I thought I'd test it out) LEARNING: In setting the color with heat, I first used a pressing sheet to protect both fabric and iron. I was surprised that NO pencil transferred to the pressing sheet and I was also able to press the fabric without a pressing sheet where I saw no transfer to the iron surface either. YEAH!

The company also makes a pencil called a "Splender" ( a blender pencil) and because controlled blending on fabric can be challenging, I thought I'd play with that too. Two colors applied / overlapped, then 'splender' blending pencil applied.

I "think" it blended a little bit better with the "splender" than it did without... tho it's not a panacea for me.

Finally, I wet the entire test cloth to see how both the heat set and non heat set color held.

WOW... I saw no bleeding in either version... Good news. Not sure why but believe the hardness of the pencil perhaps combined with the oil base, helped. We never really care WHY... just that it doesn't bleed. A worthy test. I like these pencils though admit I still like Prismacolor pencils on fabric too. Both can be acquired through www.dickblick.com. Have a great day quilter friends!