Drawing on felt is one of the most popular ways to breathe life into your felt creations and decorations. When drawing, you are allowed to be as creative as you’d like and create anything you can think of – from felt toys, key chains to Christmas ornaments.
However, felt is an incredibly difficult material to draw on because of its texture – the fibers tend to lay on top of one another in random patterns.
If you’re not careful, the designs can bleed and you’d end up with a shapeless blob on your felt design, or worse, ruining your creation!
If the task already sounds daunting to you, don’t worry, we’re here to help.
So what are the best markers for drawing on felt? The best markers for drawing on felt are typically high quality markers specially designed to work on fabric, but a high-quality acrylic paint pen set will also often work well on felt. Permanent markers tend to perform better than washable markers.
We’ll help you pick out the best markers that work well with felt, so you can be more confident when working with your felted creations in the future. We’ll also share a few dos and don’ts when it comes to drawing on felt and knowing how to get the best results will ensure you get the desired look.
If you’re interested in knowing more about the best markers that work well when drawing on felt – and tips for how to go about it – read on!
Choosing Markers For Drawing On Felt
If you have ever tried to draw on felt with a marker, you’ll understand why it’s so difficult.
The texture of the felt will cause the ink to bleed, and you’ll end up with a messy, shapeless blob. The ink can even bleed through to the other side of the felt, which can even ruin your entire project.
Moreover, not every type of marker will work on every type of felt. In our experience, washable markers tend to bleed a lot, so you won’t be able to create nice and clean shapes or maintain the colors after a period of use.
Permanent markers can work with felted creations that don’t need a lot of washing, like felted toys or ornaments.
On the other hand, if you are working with felted bags or wallets that you will be putting in the wash, using fabric markers or fabric paint pens – especially acrylic paint pens or similarly versatile pens with strong pigmentation – will ensure that the design stays for a long time.
Best Markers For Drawing On Felt
So you’re ready to draw on felt! You’ll need the best markers for the job.
We’ve got your back with a quick guide to our top marker picks for drawing on felt and similar materials:
| Rank | Product | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Super Markers Fabric Liner | 20 colors, dual tip |
| 2. | Sharpie Stained Fabric Markers | 8 colors, brush tip |
| 3. | Acrylic Paint Marker Pens | 18 colors, 0.7mm tip |
We have more on each choice below so you can be sure what you’re getting yourself into. Keep reading for more on the best markers to use on felt and happy drawing!
1. Super Markers Fabric Liner
These fabric markers work really well if you want to create fun and colorful designs on your felt creations. We love that this set comes in 20 colors, so it’s super versatile and useful for any kind of design. The markers are non-toxic. They’re great if you’re crafting with kids as young as three years old!
Working with felt is super easy if you’re using these markers. You can machine-wash your creations without affecting the design. The colors are very rich and pigmented, and your design won’t fade too much after washing.
Although the color will dry quickly and with minimal bleed, if you’re using several colors in one design, make sure one color is completely dry before adding a second (or third!) color to help you achieve a nice and clean final design.
The markers are double-ended, which means that each color comes with two types of tips to help you create a versatile range of designs. The chisel tip is bigger, so it’s great if you’re creating bigger strokes and filling in the colors. The fine bullet tip is amazing when creating fine lines and smaller details.
Even though the markers say that the ink doesn’t bleed, keep in mind that the color will bleed a little whenever you’re working with felt, so it’s best to follow the tips we give below to achieve the best results.
After you finish drawing with these markers, it’s best to let the ink dry for 24 hours before using or washing your creation, so there won’t be any color smudging or bleeding.
2. Sharpie Stained Fabric Markers
Of course, we can’t talk about quality markers without mentioning Sharpie. These bright, colorful Sharpies in 8 primary colors are designed to work well with fabric. On the felt, the colors can bleed while you work, but once the ink is allowed to dry, the colors and design will stay faithful for a long time.
These Sharpies have stiff brush tips that can help you create fine lines as well as thicker brush strokes. Thanks to this feature of the marker, controlling your drawing is super easy and you won’t have to worry about mistakes or unwanted bleeding.
The ink is also designed to survive in the wash, so it’s quite friendly for everyday projects. If you’re working with regular fabric, bleeding is non-existent, but you can expect some ink transferring and bleeding when working with felt, although these markers will still give you a neat design if you follow the above tips.
The color range is quite limited on this set, but if you don’t need a lot of colors, this is the best option for you. They are super easy to use, especially if you are a complete beginner and have never drawn on fabric before, so it’s definitely a great starter set to help you create some colorful felted designs.
3. Acrylic Paint Marker Pens
This set of markers is a bit different since it uses acrylic paint, which is known for its color quality and its durability when drawing on fabric. Unlike other acrylic paint that is sold in tubes, these paint markers are environmentally-friendly, odorless, and non-toxic so you can work even with children.
The markers have 0.7mm fine tips, so it’s best to create fine lines and intricate designs. The markers are quite sturdy and easy to maneuver, so you don’t really need any skills to work with them. The caps are designed so that the paint won’t dry out, so you’ll get longer use out of them.
Obviously, acrylic paint is known for being water-resistant and durable, so the colors will stay for a long time even after a few washes. This is possibly one of the best options when you draw on felt because you get the color quality of acrylic paint and the beginner-friendliness of a marker.
Because this is paint, you will need to shape the markers vigorously before use, as well as test the ink on a scrap piece of felt to make sure that the ink is flowing smoothly before you apply the marker to your felted creation. However, the result is definitely worth the work.
The set comes with 18 different colors, quite a wide range if you are hoping to create a lot of interesting, colorful designs. The colors dry really quickly and have minimal bleed, so drawing on felt will be quite easy when you work with these markers.
Tips For Drawing On Felt
If you already have a permanent marker or a fabric marker, try the below tips to get the best result for your felted creations:
Tip #1
Draft your design before you start. Felt is not a forgiving material – once your marker has touched the felt, you won’t be able to correct your mistakes!
If you’re planning on drawing a design on felt, it’s best to draft a sketch with pencil and paper first and make changes there before transferring the design to the felt.
Tip #2
Test the marker on a scrap piece of felt before you draw on your creation. Think of this step as practice – the more you get used to drawing on the felt with your marker, the nicer the final creation will look.
Testing the marker on your material will also allow you to get a handle on how fast the ink moves and how quickly you need to work to create the best results.
If you have a simple design, you can even draw it out first on the scrap piece of felt to make any adjustments before creating the final product.
Tip #3
When you are ready to draw on your felted creation, draw without any pauses.
Since the ink will bleed, stopping in one spot for too long will create unwanted dots in your line. The ink can even bleed through to the other side, which can mark your work surface or the next layer of felt.
Tip #4
If you are working with a flat piece of felt and don’t want the ink to bleed through, lay a piece of cardboard or paper towels underneath the felt you will be drawing on.
This step will make the working layer easier to draw on, and it won’t transfer to your work area or other layers of fabric.
Tip #5
Allow the ink to dry before touching it. Unlike working with paper or other types of fabric, the ink will take a few minutes to dry when first applied to felt. If you touch the ink right after applying, the design can be smeared!
Tip #6
If you are working with more than one color, be careful because the colors can bleed into one another!
To prevent this from happening, apply one color first, allow it to dry completely before applying other colors next to it. This way, the colors won’t mix and create any odd and unwanted blobs in your design.
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