Lutradur 70 Gram: The Fabric-Paper Hybrid That Never Frays for Mixed-Media Art
If you love experimenting — painting on fabric, printing images for a quilt, or building dimensional flowers — ordinary fabric and paper will both let you down. Fabric frays and stretches. Paper tears and falls apart when wet with paint. Pellon® 7020 Lutradur® 70 Gram was made for that in-between work. Described by Pellon as a cross between fabric and paper, this sew-in sheet gives you a surface you can paint, print, stitch, cut, and shape with heat, while it holds its form.
What Lutradur 70 Gram Is
Lutradur 70 Gram is a 100% polyester, sew-in, non-woven material sold here on a 20-inch by 10-yard bolt in white. The 70-gram weight is the lighter member of the Lutradur family. Pellon notes that it has amazing body and retains its shape, yet remains delicate and lightweight. It is also incredibly strong for its weight, which makes it useful both as a creative surface and as a base for embellishments and embroidery.
Because it is non-woven rather than woven cloth, it will never fray or unravel. Cut a crisp edge, a lacy shape, or a tiny leaf and the edge you cut is the edge you keep — no hemming or fray-check needed.
What It Is Best For
Pellon lists crafting, sewing, quilting, scrapbooking, and three-dimensional wall art among its core uses. Quilters use it for printed photos and text, appliqué elements that need a clean edge, and mixed-media blocks where paint and stitch meet. Crafters use it for book covers, cards, tags, and scrapbook elements that need to survive handling. Fiber artists use it for bowls, flowers, and leaves because it holds a shape without being stiff or heavy.
It is also a strong choice for adding imagery. Lutradur absorbs both paint and ink, so acrylics, fabric paints, and inks sit in the surface rather than beading up as they can on tightly woven fabric. Paint it, print it, then layer stitching and embellishment on top.
How to Use It
Cut Lutradur to size with scissors or a rotary cutter, just as you would paper or fabric. Test any paint, ink, or marker on a scrap first, because colors can look more intense once absorbed and dry. Apply your medium, let it dry completely, and heat-set it when the medium calls for it — Pellon notes Lutradur can be heat set up to 400°F. Use a press cloth and test first if you are combining heat with delicate paints.
To join it to a project, sew it in. Lutradur is a sew-in product, not a fusible, so stitch it by machine or hand along edges or through the surface as part of your design. It is strong enough to hold embroidery stitching, yet light enough not to weigh down a wall hanging.
For dimensional effects, a heat tool changes the surface in ways fabric never would. Pellon notes it can be melted, singed, or cut into with a heat tool to create antique, distressed effects. Work slowly, in a ventilated area, a little at a time, and always test first — heat effects are permanent.
Tips and Care
Keep a dedicated test swatch from every bolt. Paint, ink, and heat behave slightly differently depending on thickness and layering, and a swatch saves your finished piece. Layer two pieces when you need more body for a freestanding element, or use a single layer when you want softness in a layered design.
Store the bolt flat or rolled, away from sharp creases, so the surface stays smooth for printing and painting. Finished care depends on the paints, inks, and fabrics you combine with it, so follow the most delicate material in your project. Handle dimensional work gently and keep mixed-media pieces away from prolonged moisture.
Lutradur rewards curiosity. If a technique works on paper or on fabric, try a small version on Lutradur — you may find it does the job better, with a cleaner edge and far more strength than you expected.
Shop the Pellon® 7020 Lutradur® 70 Gram 20" x 10 yards Bolt. Color: White. at Linda's Electric Quilters.
