Arts Publications

Pen-sational! There was such an overwhelming response on how cool our tried and true article was in our May/June 2005 issue, we decided to bug our friends at Yasutomo for some pens for us to review. And deliver they did

Expression, Sept-Oct, 2005 by Hilari Ford

I remember one of my first forays into fabric painting--I had these pens that came in dark primary colors that didn't blend, bled through the delineated lines, and ran dry after inking anything larger than a 1" X 1" square.

Enter the Yasutomo FabricMate Markers and Colorless Blender Pens. First thing you notice with the FabricMate Markers is the amazing range of colors. From pale pink to dark brown, these colors are art quality and rich in pigment. The fine-tip brush marker makes it easy to color intricate details as well as wide-open spaces. And they're not the kind of brush markers that fray under a bit of pressure, either.

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The Colorless Blender Pen works fab-u-lous-ly. I was able to blend four colors together without making mud. The lighter color pens also work as blenders, giving some depth and shading. The Blender Pen also functions as a paintbrush, moving the marker color toward the edges for a clean, sharp line. The darker colors become nicely lightened when the Blender Pen is applied, but they don't lose their original pigment.

Also enter PermaWriter II Pens. I used the PermaWriter to touch up the areas that didn't stamp well, or were hidden by the darker inks. I like the tip on these writers--although very fine, they aren't flimsy and they had a nice feel when used on paper. This marker is permanent on porous and non-porous surfaces and will write on just about anything. Really. Try it for yourself.

All the pens are juicy. You can get the ink to pool a bit by pressing the brush into the paper or fabric. The Blender Pen absorbs the color from the inks it blends, but is quickly cleaned with a couple of swipes on clean paper. The ink will stain, but that doesn't affect the blending properties.

The FabricMate Markers come in 29 colors and is permanent when dry--no need to heat set! Neither the FabricMates, nor the PermaWriters are stinky either--a factor in a lot of fabric pens out there. The color didn't fade a bit when dry. The pigment-based inks are non-toxic and fade-resistant.

In all honesty, these are some of the best fabric markers out there right now. Add a few to your ink repertoire and you won't be sorry!

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