Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Cleaning Copic out of fabrics

I am off to Utah today to teach the certification class for Thursday. It should be a great bunch of people at that class. I can't wait!

Meanwhile, I wanted to post something rather useful. If you have ever spilled Copic ink on your clothes or accidentally dropped a marker on your favorite new blouse then you've noticed how permanent Copics are. I have the solution for you.


Cleaning Marker Ink off Fabric
If you try touching the spot with Colorless Blender you will thin out the color but it will also cause the spot to spread. That's not good. Especially on dark ink colors it will make a bigger mess (ask me how I know).

What we use at the warehouse and we swear by is Grandma's Secret Spot Remover. This stuff works great! I discovered it about 3 years ago at CHA and I figured it would be good for removing coffee stains but lo and behold it works on inks as well. Now every year I go back to their booth and thank them for making this stuff. We have 3 bottles floating around the warehouse at any time and I have 2 at home. Thank You for saving some of my favorite clothes!!!

What I do:
• Put a folded paper towel under the stained area. Add tiny amounts of colorless blender to remove as much ink as possible without spreading around too much (the paper towel will suck up a lot). Be sure you aren't just transferring the ink to another layer of fabric!

• Add a dab of Grandma's spot remover. Let it sit for a while (10-15 mins. is good), then wash your clothes on their regular setting. If you still see a hint of color then repeat.

When we spill at work sometimes we just put it on, wait 10 mins. , do a quick rinse in the bathroom, add a dab more, and then continue wearing the clothes until we get home to really wash it. It works on coffee and rust as well as Copic. I know our warehouse workers love this stuff.

This takes care of most light to medium colored blobs. I spilled black ink on my favorite light khakis and after two washes it was faded to only a tiny hint of blue (equal to about a B00). Even that came out eventually. (sorry- I never took photos and now I don't know where the stain is).

Disclaimer: I can't guarantee this will work on all fabrics or with all colors, but we've had really good success over the years. The least you can do is try it to see if it works. If this helps you salvage just one shirt then it's totally worth it. If you've tried it or found another solution then please leave a comment on this post!

Meanwhile, I will not be posting much while I am out of town, so I'll see you next week.

Salt Lake Make 'n Takes
Just a reminder, if you are in the Salt Lake Area come visit me at one of my events on Friday or Saturday. Each store I visit will have some doorprizes of NEW Spica colors, so come and check those out!!

Friday, June 12 – make and takes with OCL

2:30-4:30 Heartfelt Creations
9318 S. 700 E.
Sandy, UT

5:30-7:30 Country Loft
288 E Main
Lehi, UT

Saturday, June 13
– make and takes with OCL

10:00-11:30 Heartland Paper
616 West 2600 South
Bountiful, UT

1:00-3:30 Paper Creations
1140 E. Brickyard Road
Salt Lake City, UT

5:00-7:00 Heartland Paper
5794 South Redwood Road
Taylorsville, UT

4 comments:

Denise said...

That is so funny that you refer to a stain amount left as a marker color!

I have some of this somewhere! I guess this is what I will try on my husbands work shirt! Gave me some good ideas!

Denise Wells

Heidi Karpen said...

Thank you SO much for the tip! There used to be a good ink remover on the market, but they stopped making it and I have been searching for a replacement for years. I have several pair of pants that have a swipe of pen across them from work that I now hope to rehabilitate!

Take care and STAY POSITIVE! Trena said...

I just leave the marker stains in my clothes - makes me feel like an artist... :o)

Take care and STAY POSITIVE.

Marianne said...

Thank you so much for your wonderful demo at the Heartland Paper Company in Taylorsville tonight! I had heard so much about Copic markers on blogs, but had never seen them or tried them. I loved being able to use them and buy some! You are so talented with your wonderful artwork! Thanks again for my new obsession!!
Have a good day~ Marianne Nattress