Use Chalk Couture Ink to Wear Your Art

Chalk Couture Ink makes fabric projects fun and easy! Use it to create unique clothing designs so that you and your family can wear your art! In this blog, we are creating a design on a Onesie. They are so much fun to make for the little ones in your life! They also make great gifts!

Using Chalk Couture Ink

You can use Chalk Couture Ink on any type of fabric to make art that you can wear! It’s easy to work with and is permanently set with heat. Let’s look at a specific project where a Onesie was decorated with the Chalk Couture Retro Love stencil for a cute Valentine’s Day gift, but the supplies and steps would be the same for any fabric project. Think t-shirts, sweatshirts, tote bags, jean jackets, canvas shoes and so much more!

Supplies Needed

Here is a list of supplies specific for this Onesie project, but remember that you can substitute any type of fabric item you want to make!

• Onesie or clothing item of your choice,
• Chalk Couture Retro Love stencil or any stencil of your choice. Learn more about these silkscreen stencils in the Chalk Couture Stencil Guide.
• Chalkology Ink in Couture Coral or any color of your choice. Learn more about Chalkology Ink in the Chalk Couture Paste & Ink Guide.
• A Chalk Couture ink mat, but you can also use any similar mat that you can find at your local craft store. These mats are sticky so that they hold your fabric in place while you are applying the ink to your stencil.
• A squeegee to apply the Chalkology Ink.

Steps to complete this project

Below are the steps to complete this Onesie project. Creating ink projects with Chalk Couture supplies is fun and easy! These steps will be the same no matter what fabric item you are using.

• Insert the ink mat inside your piece of clothing to hold it still and flat. See the tip in the photo below for an easy way to insert the mat without bunching and wrinkling your fabric.

• If required, cut apart your stencil, position in onto your article of clothing, and smooth out any bubbles in the silkscreen portion of your stencil.
• Apply the Chalkology Ink following these tips:
  • Use a small amount of ink, place it on the teal part of the stencil and squeegee it down onto the silkscreen.
  • Do not use a lot of pressure and work in one direction as much as possible (i.e. top to bottom, left to right, etc.)
  • Work slowly as ink does not dry very fast. Take your time and ensure all of the fabric is covered by the ink.

• Slowly peel off your stencil to reveal your design! By moving slowly, you can lay your stencil back down and reapply some ink if there are places where the fabric isn’t fully covered.

Heat Setting Your Design

Before setting your ink with heat, let it dry completely! The best thing is to let it dry overnight if you have enough time. Once the ink is completely dry, there are 2 ways to heat set your design. Note you must heat set both sides of your design (inked side and non-inked side).

1. With a regular iron using dry heat – no steam:
   • heat your iron on medium heat for your fabric,
   • place parchment paper over and under your design,
   • once your iron reaches the desired temperature, place your iron on your parchment paper and move it around in small circles for 4 minutes,
   • turn your article of clothing inside out and repeat the above process.
2. With a Cricut heat press:
   • set your Cricut heat press to 300 – 315 degrees,
   • place parchment paper over and under your design,
   • once your Cricut heat press reaches the desired temperature, place it on top of your parchment paper for 30 seconds. You can move your heat press around like you would an iron.
   • turn your article of clothing inside out and repeat the above process.

Your Chalkology Ink is now permanently set and your article of clothing can be worn, washed and worn again!

Working with Chalk Couture Chalkology Ink is fun, quick and easy! You can create so many unique fabric projects so that you and your family can wear your art! How much fun will it be to say you made that yourself when you get tons of compliments about how cute you all look? The best part is you can upcycle those plain t-shirts and sweatshirts sitting in your closet or dresser drawers!

I hope this blog post inspired you to create some fabulous fabric projects using Chalk Couture Ink and stencils!

I can’t wait to see what you create!

Luana