Beginning with the introduction of wax crayons, women began to embellish their work with color. Break out that box of Crayola crayons and recreate the charm and unique personality of vintage tinted linens.

The technique is simple and fun to do for all ages. Crayon quilts are an easy way to get your children involved. 

No applique or piecing is required. You can even color in the borders. You can also use melted crayons if you are the adventurous sort.

Please note: These directions are for using regular crayons on 100% cotton.  If you want to color on synthetic or synthetic blend fabrics, you will need to use Fabric Crayons.

Start by prewashing your 100% cotton fabric without using a fabric softener or dryer sheet. Then iron it to a stabilizer like freezer paper.

Trace your design onto the fabric using a light box & a black Pigma pen. (If you don't have a light box - put your fabric against a sunny window and trace away!) Using  crayons, fill in as much color as you like. The harder you press, the deeper the colors. Coloring books are a good place to find open designs with clearly defined lines.

Here are 2 designs from a vintage 1930's Ruby McKim quilt pattern named Farm Life:

I'll Huff... and I'll Puff... well, you know the story of the 3 pigs. But have you seen it colored with crayons?

Once you have all your blocks done you will seal your picture. Place brown paper or absorbent material on your picture. Iron back and forth pressing hard.

Protect your ironing board with a couple of sheets of newspaper or paper towels. Put the colored fabric face up and cover it with a paper towel. Press with iron set on wool or medium. As you press, you will see the paper towel start to absorb the excess wax. It may or may not have color.

Change the paper towel and press until there is no longer any wax. If you don't think it's dark enough after pressing it, you can go over it again with crayons and then press again. When you are finished, let it cool a bit and peel off the freezer paper. You might want to turn the fabric over repeat the process with the back side of your crayoned design up.

Let your fabric cool before you use it. You can do a wash of clear textile medium or transparent textile paint (like Seta color) over the crayons to make it more permanent, but it probably won't be necessary unless you plan to wash your quilt often. If you do need to wash, use cold water on the gentle cycle and line dry.

Don't stop now.  Don't I see a plain T-shirt, a pillowcase....