Help from crafters please? (pet memorial)

[Golden Phoenix]

I had no idea where this should go, but Off topic seems like a good bet.

Right. Over a year ago we lost our beloved cat Moo. He and my husband were very very close and we're still devastated by the loss, so I wanted to make him something to remind him of Moo.

I plan to get a plain white cat plush and I want to colour in Moo's markings, I thought about using a black sharpie to do this but don't really know if it would be the best thing to use, especially since the toy is likely to be handled a lot.

So, I throw myself at your mercy, any suggestions?

If it's relevant, Moo was mostly white with black patches so it would be at most a 30% coverage of dye/paint/whatever. I would like the fur to still be soft and fur like.

Many many thanks in advance.

If i figure this out, i'll post pics of my progress and some of moo for comparison

[Seshat]

Paint-on dye would probably do the job better. It might be sold as fabric paint.

DO discuss it with the craft-shop staff, however. Some fabric paints are unsuitable for faux-fur. Some need to be washed out after they've been applied and left on for a bit. Some have a risk of colour-bleed.


I'm fairly sure there'll be a paint-on fabric dye that will be right for the job, though, and that you'll get a better result with one than with a sharpie.

[Golden Phoenix]

Thank you Seshat, I didn't even think of trying the local craft store.

I've found the perfect cat plush now, it even looks a little like Moo did (minus the markings of course) and the store has "Setacolour" paints. Only problem is they need to be fixed at 150 degrees and i'm not sure how a plush would handle that heat.

Anyone used setacolour and have any tips on using it, or have a favourite fabric paint that would leave faux fur soft and furry?

Edit: After researching some more i've found SoSoft fabric paint, it is permanent and doesn't need heat sealing, anyone got experience with it?

[Seshat]

I assumed at first that you meant 150 Celcius. Given that that's boiling-at-sea-level water, plus half-again the difference in temp between freezing and boiling water ... well, I would expect plushes to melt at that temperature.

If you mean 150 Farenheit, you could always buy two of the plushes (if they're not horribly expensive) and do a test-heating with oen of them. The spare plush can be given to any charity that supplies plushes to needy kids.


I have no experience with painting on plush fabrics. I wish Spark was still with us: she does.

Another option, depending on your sewing skills, is to buy a black faux-fur fabric that matches the texture and depth of the plush's fabric. You can then carefully - very carefully - trim most of the fur off the backing on the black parts, and applique the black fabric over the backing on the plush's fabric.

[fireheart]

Yu can also get fabric sharpies if you're still unsure. They're sold in most stationery stores

[Golden Phoenix]

I assumed at first that you meant 150 Celcius. Given that that's boiling-at-sea-level water, plus half-again the difference in temp between freezing and boiling water ... well, I would expect plushes to melt at that temperature.

If you mean 150 Farenheit, you could always buy two of the plushes (if they're not horribly expensive) and do a test-heating with oen of them. The spare plush can be given to any charity that supplies plushes to needy kids.


I have no experience with painting on plush fabrics. I wish Spark was still with us: she does.

Another option, depending on your sewing skills, is to buy a black faux-fur fabric that matches the texture and depth of the plush's fabric. You can then carefully - very carefully - trim most of the fur off the backing on the black parts, and applique the black fabric over the backing on the plush's fabric.

Unfortunately my sewing skills aren't that great, not good enough to get a good result anyway, i can mend a split seam or so on but craft sewing is beyond my skill level.

Unfortunately, being British, I did indeed mean 150 celsius, and yeah, i figured it wouldn't handle it too well, Lol. I think i'll have to find a non-heat setting product to use.

[Seshat]

<glances at your location>

Oops. Yeah. I suspect that stuff isn't meant for synthetic fabrics. 150oC is no problem for cotton or wool and (I think) silk or linen. But not so good for stuff like nylon.


I should have specified when I mentioned fabric dyes: there are synthetic-fabric dyes and natural-fabric dyes and never (or rarely) the twain shall meet. (note, this is not the same as 'synthetic dyes and natural dyes': this is dyes for synthetic fabrics and...)

Given that almost all faux-fur is synthetic, look for a synth-fabric dye.

Synthetic fabrics usually are non-porous, natural fabrics are porous. Synth fabrics often (not always) get melty under heat, natural fabrics can usually take quite a bit of heat (and them go foom flamey). These wildly different attributes mean that you have to use different dyes for the two different types of fibre.

Fabrics which are mixtures of synthetic and natural fibres are just plain weird to dye.