How to Heat Set Fabric Markers? – 4 Home-based Methods

Step 1, Find a suitable working area. Heat setting through a flat iron needs cautions due to burning risks. So, ensure to work alone to avoid getting bumped by other people and keep children away from the area too!

Step 2, One can experience accidentally burning themselves when using an iron. So, it’s vital to wear heat-resistant gloves throughout the process to prevent burns!

Step 3, Set up the ironing board. Plug the flat iron and wait for it to heat to an approximately moderate temperature.

Typically, a temperature of 350°F (177 °C) is recommended. Make sure the steam heating mode is turned off.

Depending on the delicateness of the fabric, you can lower the temperature to avoid damaging its textile.

Step 4, Turn the fabric upside down.

If you use fabric markers on t-shirts, turn the shirt inside out.

This step is to ensure that the flat iron surface does not directly hit the embellished part of the clothing or fabric.

Step 5, For shirts and other doubled fabrics, place a piece of paper inside. This would create a barrier between the painted and unpainted sides.

Lay the fabric on top of the ironing board. For extra protection on your flat iron and shirt, place a spare cloth on top of the area you have to iron.

Step 6, Start ironing by slowly but continuously gliding back and forth. The permanent fabric marker should be set after a few minutes of ironing.

If you want to wash the cloth, wait 4 to 5 days to ensure that the marker inks have settled permanently onto the fabric.

Interestingly, you can heat set fabric markers without an iron. If you find passion in baking, you’ll find it even more fortunate to have an oven as it can also be used to heat a permanent fabric marker for clothes!

Step 1, The proper temperature must be met to heat set permanent marker on a fabric. So, preheat the oven to a moderate temperature—specifically, 350°F (177 °C).

Step 2, While waiting for the temperature to hit the required level, get your oven tray and line it up with parchment paper to prevent the cloth from sticking to the tray’s surface.

Step 3, Fold the garment and lay it on the baking tray. Ensure that all portions of the fabric are within the bounds of the tray and parchment paper.

If your oven does not have a temperature label, use a thermometer to check the level.

Step 4, Once the oven is ready, place the oven tray in the oven and set it for a quarter-hour. Take a glance from time to time while heating the fabric to see if alarming events are happening– such as a burning smell or fire.

Step 5, When done, remove it from the oven and let it cool! Handling hot objects requires precaution due to the possible risks of burning and experiencing other unwanted accidents. So, wear oven gloves when taking out the tray inside.

Making textile markers permanent through heat setting is a complex process, especially since it needs close attention!

But using your dryer is a worry-free way to heat set permanent marker on fabric since you can just leave the cloth while the process is ongoing. You may either use a stand-alone tumble dryer or the one that your washing machine has.

Step 1, Simply dump the painted fabric inside the machine.

Step 2, Set the timer for about 60 minutes.

One precaution to take note of is that you should not add other fabrics apart from the one you just placed inside the dryer to prevent colors from bleeding.

Step 3, Wait for the time to finish. Once you hear the beeping signal of your machine, remove the fabric and allow the heat to escape from the material at room temperature.

Since the heat from hair dryer is not as hot as the other heat sources above, heat must still be applied to set ink on fabric pieces. Otherwise, there would be a possibility that the colors of a fabric marker would fade out.

So, heat setting the fabric marker with hairdryer is still better than not doing anything at all.

Step 1, Set up your fabric on a clothes hanger. If you have to heat set lightweight fabrics such as handkerchiefs, it is best to use a clothes hanger with built-in clips so as not to get blown away by the hairdryer.

Step 2, Put the hanger on a clothes rack. You may also use your closet rod.

Step 3, Blow dry your fabric using the highest heat level your hairdryer has. This process may take about 20 minutes or longer, depending on the density of the marker ink, the type of fabric, and the level of heat your dryer can conduct.