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Description |
Have you been wishing that you could have
some of your favorite ARTchix Studio images printed on FABRIC? Are you
looking for ARTchix Studio Fabric Images to use in your mixed media or
other fabric art? Well, it’s definitely possible! I am going to go over
a few easy ways to transfer ARTchix Studio images to fabric, and you’ll
be on your way to creating something new, different and beautiful.
Enjoy! If you have any questions, you can email me:
lenna@creativelenna.com
Or visit my website for more ARTchix Studio fabric fun:
http://www.creativelenna.com
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Printing our images directly onto a prepared Inkjet Fabric Sheet |
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Prepared Inkjet Fabric sheets |
ARTchix Studio Transparency sheet copied onto a
Prepared Inkjet Fabric sheet |
ARTchix Studio Transparency and Collage images copied
onto a Prepared Inkjet Fabric sheet |
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Instructions: |
One of the easiest ways to create soft
fabric images is to purchase already prepared and cut to size fabric
sheets that are ready to go through your inkjet printer. You can find
prepared fabric sheets online (do a search) or visit a local Quilt shop.
I have even found prepared fabric sheets in the sewing/craft department
of a large department store like Wal-Mart! There are many different
brands available so it’s important to read all the directions, as each
manufacturer may have different instructions. The basic idea is: copy
the desired images directly onto the prepared fabric sheet by putting
the fabric sheet through the copier instead of regular plain paper. Make
sure you purchase the correct type of fabric sheets, i.e. inkjet sheets
for an inkjet printer!
Pick one of our collage sheets or one of our transparency sheets (or
both!) for your fabric transfer, and place them on the copier bed. Cut
out certain images if you prefer, instead of using the entire collage
sheet as I did. For my HP all-in-one printer/scanner/copier I read the
instructions on the Fabric Sheet package first, then set the quality at
‘Best’, chose ‘everyday matte’ for the paper selection, and bumped the
printing saturation up a notch by choosing 1 notch darker. I pressed
‘color print’ and using my hand, I helped to feed the already prepared
inkjet fabric sheet through the copier. Voila! Your images have been
transferred to fabric! As you can see in the photos, the images are
reversed. You’ll want to avoid lettering, except when working with a
transparency –- because transparencies are clear, you can easily flip it
over and reverse it when copying. If your copied image is reversed, it
will look the same as the original image after you’ve transferred it. It
sounds confusing, but once you try it you’ll see what I mean! |
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Printing our images directly onto a hand
made Fabric Sheet |
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ARTchix Studio Collage
sheet copied onto a hand made muslin fabric sheet |
ARTchix Studio Collage
sheet copied onto a hand made muslin fabric sheet
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Instructions: |
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You don’t have to purchase already prepared fabric
sheets, as it is possible to make your own! I find prepared sheets
very convenient, but you can save a lot of money if you make your
own fabric sheets instead. You’ll need plain, flat fabric like
muslin or cotton sheets, freezer paper, an iron, a piece of 8 ˝ x
11” lightweight cardstock and double stick tape. Your fabric should
be roughly 8 ˝ x 11”; a little bit larger is fine because you will
trim it. Iron your fabric onto a piece of Freezer Paper with a hot
iron on the shiny side so the fabric sticks to the paper very well.
Take a piece of card stock and put a strip of double stick tape on
the top and bottom. Lay the cardstock (tape side down) on top of the
Freezer paper side. Trim the extra fabric/freezer paper that sticks
out around the cardstock until it is the same size as the cardstock.
Make sure the fabric is crisply cut and there are no stray threads
hanging. Place your ARTchix Studio image sheets or selected images
on the copier bed and feed your fabric sandwich through your
copier/printer according to your printer instructions. Again, for my
HP all-in-one printer/scanner/copier I set the quality at ‘Best’,
chose ‘everyday matte’ for the paper selection and bumped the
printing saturation up a notch by choosing 1 notch darker.
Unless your fabric is specially prepared beforehand, the home made
sheets are only suitable for non-washable items. I have used my
homemade sheets mostly for fabric Quilties or fabric collages. My HP
printer/copier uses Vivera inks which are supposed to be longer
lasting . . . I do not worry about this much myself, but it is
something to research if it is important to you.
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Printing our images onto Iron-On Transfer Paper |
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Iron-On Transfer Paper |
Women in ART collage sheet copied onto Iron-On Transfer paper |
Iron-On Image is cut out & ready to transfer |
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Ironing the image – Follow package instructions |
Revealing the Iron-On Transfer image |
Comparing the fabric transfer to the paper image (reversed) |
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Instructions: |
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Iron-on T-shirt transfer paper is easy
to work with and makes a great fabric transfer. This special paper
is available online or at your local office supply store. I have
even found Iron-On T-shirt Transfer paper in the photo department of
Wal-Mart. You can elect to transfer a whole sheet of our collage
images like I did, or you can cut out various ARTchix Studio images
that you would like to see transferred to fabric. Place the collage
sheet images on the copier bed and copy them onto the transfer paper
following the manufacturers and your printer instructions. Each
product is unique and may have different instructions, so it’s VERY
important to read ALL of the instructions before beginning.
Once your images are copied onto the Iron-On Transfer paper, heat
your iron to the recommended temperature and follow the instructions
on the package. In most cases it is recommended that you DO NOT use
an ironing board for doing the transfer. Instead, place your plain
fabric (with the iron-on transfer on top, face down) on a flat
surface such as a hard table. Iron for the recommended amount of
time and press very firmly while ironing. My instructions said to
‘let the piece cool’ for a minute, which I did, before peeling the
paper backing and revealing the transferred image on the fabric. The
transfer came out so nicely I ended up using it right away to create
a fabric collage. : )
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Transferring our images to Fabric using Gel Medium |
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Gather your supplies |
Brush on the Gel Medium |
Spread the Medium evenly |
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ARTchix Image face down, use a brayer to burnish |
Let
Dry OVERNIGHT |
Soak fabric and dried image in water |
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gently rub back paper off |
Continue rubbing with a wet sponge |
almost done, it needs to dry |
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a
bit of paper residue |
Transfer to fabric is complete and BEAUTIFUL! |
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Instructions: |
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The gel medium transfer process I am
going to show you works wonderfully with our professionally laser
printed collage sheets. It will NOT work with our transparency
sheets, so for this method, please choose only ARTchix Studio
collage sheet images.
Gather your supplies: an ARTchix Studio collage image cut out and
trimmed as you like, your receiving fabric that you will be
transferring the image to, a foam brush, a brayer or bone folder,
and gel medium. For best results, I recommend an artist’s quality
brand gel medium like Golden. Iron your fabric if necessary, and
brush a not too thick, not too thin amount of gel medium onto your
fabric with the foam bush. Experience will tell you the right
amount, but think ‘moderate’. Use your finger to evenly spread the
gel medium on your fabric in an area about the size of your image.
Place your trimmed collage image face down into the gel medium and
use your fingers or the back of your nail to connect the image to
the gel medium. Then use a brayer or a bone folder to further rub
and press the image into the gel medium coated fabric. My brayer had
leftover orange ink on it (which I didn’t know!) so that is why
you’ll see the orange ink on the back of the image in the photos.
But because this paper will be peeled off later after the gel medium
dries, this was not a problem! Wipe away any excess medium that is
around the outside edges of your image.
LET YOUR FABRIC/GEL MEDIUM/IMAGE ‘SANDWICH’ DRY OVERNIGHT. This is
very important for this method. When your fabric/image ‘sandwich’ is
completely dry, you are going to drop it in a bowl of lukewarm
water, submerged for a few minutes – up to 5 or 10 minutes is fine.
You want to loosen the paper on the back of the collage image so you
can gently rub it off. The gel medium has completely dried now,
capturing the image in reverse on your receiving fabric. Lay down an
absorbent dish towel and a few paper towels on your table or counter
and place your wet fabric/image sandwich on top of this with the
paper back of the collage image facing up towards you. I like to
start using a wet sponge to gently rub the backing paper off. Start
in one corner and gently work your way down, peeling the paper away
to reveal the image as you go. It is exciting! You will need to go
over the back of the image a number of times until you peel all the
paper away. When you think your image looks free of paper, let it
dry. Come back later and you will most likely find a bit of paper
residue left on the surface of your transferred image. Wet your
finger and use a gentle circular motion to remove the remaining
paper.
WOW! Look at that gorgeous ARTchix Studio image you transferred to
fabric!! I hope you have fun with this and it gives you many
creative hours.
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Notes |
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Please feel free to print
these instructions for easy reference. (Use Landscape Layout when printing this page).
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Back to Free Classes |
Free Class: Transferring ARTchix Images to Fabric
