Printing on Fabric Tutorial

Hi there!

I'm back this morning with the printing on fabric tutorial that I promised yesterday. And guess what? You are going to be *shocked* and *amazed* at how easy it is!

First, you'll need to choose a fabric. I don't think it really matters what kind you choose, but for the truest color, you will obviously want the whitest color you can find. For my purposes, I bought a heavy-weight duck cloth in a creamy natural color, because I wanted the background to match my cream tote bag.

You'll also need some kind of file to print. MFT has begun a whole line of digital papers ready to print (for cheap!) that you can find here. Other companies also have this option, so if you don't see what you like at MFT, just do an internet search, and find something you do like. I found that dark, high-contrast patterns printed better than lighter ones, since the printing dulls the pattern a little bit. So you'll want to keep that in mind when choosing your file. Note: Make sure you have the right to print what you're printing. For instance, it might seem like a good idea to just scan in some of your existing patterned paper and re-print it. But this isn't legal. You might think that doesn't matter because no one will find out, but please don't rip off the crafty companies that keep you happy :) It's bad crafting karma!

You'll also need:
Freezer Paper
An Iron
A Computer and Printer
Scissors
A Paper Cutter

And here's how it works! (I apologize in advance for the pictures. I was working in my laundry/sewing room, which has the WORST lighting!):

First, prepare your fabric. If you are planning on making something washable, pre-wash and dry your fabric. Lay it out on a surface and cut it to size. My file was 8 1/2" x 11", so I used a piece of cardstock as a template. You'll want to leave a small (1/4 to 1/2 inch) border on all sides. You don't have to be neat at this step. Just cut something that vaguely resembles a rectangle, and you're fine.




Next, get out your freezer paper. If you haven't seen freezer paper, it's basically like a combination wax/parchment paper. One side is like parchment paper, and the other side is waxy. You can find it in the baking section of the store by the aluminum foil and wax paper. Here's what it looks like:


Cut a piece of freezer paper to match the fabric piece you just cut as closely as possible.



Match up your fabric and your freezer paper, one on top of the other, so that the waxy side of the paper is facing the back side of your fabric. Using an iron, iron over the fabric and paper until the paper is completely stuck to the fabric. For my purposes, I had my iron on its highest setting, but this will obviously depend on your fabric and your iron. Here it is all ironed together:



Your printer won't accept your fabric all uneven and frayed like this, so the next step is to even off the edges. Cut your fabric to the exact size you plan on running through your printer. I used a paper cutter, which worked fine.


If your paper cutter isn't sharp enough, you can probably get away with *carefully* tracing and cutting the paper with sharp scissors.

If your paper starts to come unglued at the edges at any point, just run the iron back over it for a few seconds. Make sure there are no stray threads hanging that could get caught in your printer.

Here it is all cut to size:


The freezer paper gives the fabric enough stability to allow it to safely pass through your printer.

Next comes the fun stuff! It's time to run it through your fabric through the printer. You'll want to make sure your printer is set to print on its darkest setting. You can usually make this adjustment in the print settings menu on your computer. I tried putting my fabric in the auto-feed tray and the manual feed tray, and both worked. How you decide to do it is up to what you think your printer can handle.


I used a color laser jet to print my fabric, but an ink jet will work, too. So just line your fabric up, prepare the digital file of your choice, and click "print"!

And here's what the fabric comes out looking like straight out of the printer:


In this case, I only needed a little of 2 different patterns, so I just used a graphic design program to line up the files to print half and half on one page. I also didn't line them up very carefully, which is why the pattern is a little crooked and has a lot of white space. If you are printing a straight piece of patterned paper without modifications, your fabric will extend nearly all the way to the edges with a thin white border around the edges (unless you are lucky enough to have a full-bleed printer, in which case the color will go all the way to the edges).

Next is an important step. You'll want to heat set your fabric by running an iron over it for a couple of minutes. This will ensure that you can wash it without it majorly fading or bleeding. I did this face down on paper towels (because a little color does come off when you heat set) with the paper backing still on. When you're done heat setting, you can peel the paper backing off (it comes off really easily), or you can keep it on if you want to use your paper cutter to make *super* straight and even cuts for your project. Just be sure to remove it before any sewing.

See, it really is fabric!




I hope you'll consider giving this a try. I can imagine a hundred different applications for this!

If you haven't seen the MFT idol project I put together using printed fabric, just scroll down to yesterday's post to view it. And while you're doing that, would you consider voting for me (20something)? If I win, $50 will go to the charity of my choice, The Humane Society, courtesy of MFT. Awesome, huh?! Voting is open until 10 pm EST tonight (May 6).

Enjoy your day! :)