How To Print on Fabric
Would you like to make fabric tags to put on quilts? Or perhaps to use as a clothing label? Well once you learn How To Print On Fabric you can do both of those things!
How To Print On Fabric
Materials:
Freezer Paper
White Fabric
Printer
Iron
Vinegar
Shallow Bowl
Steps:
Cut a piece of freezer paper to fit in your printer. You can use a piece of printer paper and trace around it to make sure you have the correct size.
Iron the freezer paper onto the white fabric (one side feels more waxy, that side will go on the fabric) then trim the fabric to the same size as the freezer paper. Make sure there are no frayed ends on the fabric to get stuck in your printer!
Take the freezer paper and put it in your printer. For my printer I put the side I want printed on face down. So I put the fabric side face down.
Go to your computer and print the design you would like.
Occasionally it will come out smeared. Just try again. The picture above took me 2 attempts! After it comes out, carefully peel off the freezer paper from the fabric being careful not to smudge the ink.
Fill a shallow bowl with vinegar – just enough to cover the fabric. Set your printed fabric in the bowl and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to set the ink.
After you take it out of the vinegar, rinse with cold water to get out the vinegar smell. You can either lay it flat to dry or you can use a hair dryer to speed up the process.
I use some pinking shears to cut around the picture then I sew it on to my project. If it’s a quilt I usually use my sewing machine but if it’s clothing I hand stitch it on.
You can use this process to print out some of my created homemade labels!
That’s a clever idea, is it washable afterwards? How effective is the vinegar at setting the ink? I’d love to give this a try – thanks.
Thanks Julie! The vinegar set the ink really well and yes it is washable. I attached a label to a quilt I made for my daughter when she got married. She said she’s probably washed it about 15 times and it still looks as good as new.
Is there an app for pudding beautiful text and graphics on the paper? I love this idea thank you so much for sharing it.
I just used Microsoft Word to create the prints. I get most of my graphics from hungryjpeg.com or creativemarket.com and I edit images in ipiccy.com.
Thank you for the tutorial. I’ve tried a few brands of wax paper and have been unsuccessful. Can you message me the brand you used? I’ve even tried different settings on my iron to no avail.
The paper you have to use is freezer paper. It is Reynold’s brand. Here is a link to purchase it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EME5KZ0/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thisautoimmun-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00EME5KZ0&linkId=e9542f4ae9e0c3372928d185b11face3
I couldn’t find freezer paper at the store. All they had was wax paper and parchment paper. I used some left over stabilizer from a t-shirt quilt and it worked great!
What happens if you just use spray starch instead of the vinegar process?
I couldn’t tell you as I’ve never tried that method. I just know that the vinegar sets the ink to keep it from bleeding.
Will this work with a laser printer? I do not have an inkjet. I am a quilter and make my own quilt labels.
Barbara, I believe it will but I can’t say that I’ve ever tried it.
When I need a small amount of freezer paper, I just go to the meat counter at my local grocers and buy some meat. They put the meat in plastic before wrapping in freezer paper, so it stays clean. I guess you can always ask if they can double wrap it. The worst they can do is say no.
Thank you so much! I’ve always wanted to know how to do this.