I’ve been having fun trying out some sketches on fabric using a pen in my KNK Zing.  I have learned that drawing to make things look good is one thing, but drawing to make them sketch out correctly (or cut )….. is quite another. I have taken some of my previous designs and re-worked them for this purpose. It has been a bit of trial and error, but I think I am getting the hang of it.

When I first tried this, I sent a PNG to my software and traced it. Look closely at the image of the Fan Club bag I made. I think it turned out pretty cute, but you can see that the image was traced. See all the double lines?

Fan Club

I have since learned that I can send my SVG directly to MTC, or save it as a DXF and send to Silhouette. Now what was I thinking! This makes so much more sense and produces a  much better result! But…. I have to make sure things are drawn correctly….. no crossing lines, etc.

Another problem I had sketching on fabric was getting the fabric to adhere to the mat and stay put during the sketching process. However, Kay Hall at cleversomeday.wordpress.com created a great tutorial and suggested using freezer paper on the back of the fabric for stability. With this method there is no need to use a mat.

Here are a couple of projects I worked on today. Not perfection….. but I like them much better!

Mackinac Ferry Sketched on Canvas

Sketch Pen Pillow

Happy drawing!

Laurianne