Computers & Quilting

Computers and the Internet are usually a great time saver. But they can also waste hours of your valuable quilting time.  Here are hints from other quilters.

I make alot of memory quilts and have found this process very easy.  I use a fine quality muslin and cut the pieces 8-1/2 x 11, which is the biggest that my printer can print.  I then soak the pieces in Bubble Jet Solution for 5 minutes, according to package direction.  I then squeeze as much solution out that I can without twisting the fabric.  I then hang them to dry on my design wall.  When they are dry, I cut pieces of freezer paper the same size and iron the freezer paper to the back of the fabric and it is then ready to print.  After I print the pictures on the fabric, I let them sit at least 2 hours, just to be certain that the ink is totally dry, longer if possible.  I then peel the freezer paper off the back and rinse in cold water.  I use a towel to dry them, put the picture in between layers of the towel and press until I get the majority of the water out of the fabric.  I then allow to air dry, however you can put them in the dryer if you like.  Then your pictures are ready to put into your quilt!!

I use Print Shop to make my quilt labels.  I use 8.5 by 11 glossy photo paper.  My label only takes up half ot the sheet of paper.  I hate to waste the rest of the paper so I copy the label and paste a duplicate on the bottom half of the sheet.  I use the copy to make a card for the the person I'm giving the quilt to.  Simply apply Wonder Under (or other fusible) and iron to card stock.  You can include washing instructions inside if you wish.  It's a nice way to tie the card and gift together visually. Actually when reading this over (after winning the tips contest! Thank you)  I realized I put the wrong paper down.  I use 8.5 by 11 cotton fiber attached to a paper backing which is expensive, this is why I try to use it all.

A great way to transfer images to fabric is to use printable transfer paper that you iron on to the fabric. This transfer paper is inserted to your ink jet printer like regular paper and an image is printed. Once the image has been printed, the image can be easily transferred to the fabric using a hot iron. One popular use for this method is to print photographs and then transfer the images to fabric you can use in a quilt.