From time to time, errors are made on fabric church banners. Some
can be resolved and others cannot. If the mistake is irreparable, it is
sad but one must scrap the banner and start over. Below are a couple of
problems that I have found can be resolved and therefore the banner
spared from starting over.
If a letter is ironed on crooked or a word is misspelled, there is hope as long as the letters have not already been outlined with the permanent Tulip fabric paint. To remove and adjust a letter that has already been ironed on, one must allow the fabric time to cool from the heat of the iron first. Second, one must use a dampened clean soft cloth to DAMPEN only the letter itself from the front side or the backside of the banner behind the letter. It is very important that the there is not too much wetness as that can leave a "water mark" on the banner itself. Some dampness may absorb beyond the borders of the letter but it should dry okay as long as it is very little. The dampness will loosen the transwebbing adhesive on the back of the letter and you should be able to lift the letter(s) off the background banner. It lifts easier if you are using letters on satin banners because of the tight satiny weave. Sometimes you can lift the letter without adding dampness, rather the cooling alone may be enough to peel the letter off. This procedure works with lifting off design errors as well.
Another area that can cause mistakes on your banner is paint where you don't want it. There are a few tricks to resolving this mistake. Paint bubbles (burps) happen and cannot be avoided. But in order to lessen their occurrence, keep the bottle upside down to avoid air pockets in the thick paint. Also dragging the tip slowly where you are painting can alert you to when a bubble is about to happen and therefore lessen the damage. If you are using a glitter type paint, the base is a clear substance so you can carefully wipe the "burp" with a q-tip or other small tool... maybe a small paint brush to minimize the damage. If the paint is a solid color, it is much more difficult. I suggest waiting until the "burp" has completely dried and then touch up with another paint that matches the color of the fabric that the burp spilled over onto. You may even be able to peel the dried "burp" off the banner. This only works if the error is small.
If the paint error is too large there are still a couple of "saving graces". For example, you can figure out a way to cover a smudge. Sometimes I have added golden rays if appropriate for the design. Other times I add an extra detail like a vine or curling tendril from a grape leave vine design. I have also used gems in a sky background to simulate sparkling stars in order to cover unwanted dots or small fabric flaws.
These are some creative methods to resolve errors without throwing the whole banner away. You will probably come up with a few of your own. But the bottom line is that you are making something to represent a Holy God and that will be used in a church as a worship banner, so you should only fix errors to the extent that they are not readily seen and appear as meant to be apart of the church banner.
If a letter is ironed on crooked or a word is misspelled, there is hope as long as the letters have not already been outlined with the permanent Tulip fabric paint. To remove and adjust a letter that has already been ironed on, one must allow the fabric time to cool from the heat of the iron first. Second, one must use a dampened clean soft cloth to DAMPEN only the letter itself from the front side or the backside of the banner behind the letter. It is very important that the there is not too much wetness as that can leave a "water mark" on the banner itself. Some dampness may absorb beyond the borders of the letter but it should dry okay as long as it is very little. The dampness will loosen the transwebbing adhesive on the back of the letter and you should be able to lift the letter(s) off the background banner. It lifts easier if you are using letters on satin banners because of the tight satiny weave. Sometimes you can lift the letter without adding dampness, rather the cooling alone may be enough to peel the letter off. This procedure works with lifting off design errors as well.
Another area that can cause mistakes on your banner is paint where you don't want it. There are a few tricks to resolving this mistake. Paint bubbles (burps) happen and cannot be avoided. But in order to lessen their occurrence, keep the bottle upside down to avoid air pockets in the thick paint. Also dragging the tip slowly where you are painting can alert you to when a bubble is about to happen and therefore lessen the damage. If you are using a glitter type paint, the base is a clear substance so you can carefully wipe the "burp" with a q-tip or other small tool... maybe a small paint brush to minimize the damage. If the paint is a solid color, it is much more difficult. I suggest waiting until the "burp" has completely dried and then touch up with another paint that matches the color of the fabric that the burp spilled over onto. You may even be able to peel the dried "burp" off the banner. This only works if the error is small.
If the paint error is too large there are still a couple of "saving graces". For example, you can figure out a way to cover a smudge. Sometimes I have added golden rays if appropriate for the design. Other times I add an extra detail like a vine or curling tendril from a grape leave vine design. I have also used gems in a sky background to simulate sparkling stars in order to cover unwanted dots or small fabric flaws.
These are some creative methods to resolve errors without throwing the whole banner away. You will probably come up with a few of your own. But the bottom line is that you are making something to represent a Holy God and that will be used in a church as a worship banner, so you should only fix errors to the extent that they are not readily seen and appear as meant to be apart of the church banner.
