Printer Techniques

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.

I have resently found a way to save lots of money on printable sheets.  First you take your material,  I use Muslum, and wash and dry it,but you use NO fabric softeners or dryer sheets.  While you are waiting for your fabric you take your freezer paper and cut it to size.  Which I take a piece of my printer paper and trace around it.  Cut out as many as you need, which I keep some ahead.  Then set the paper aside.  After your fabric is ready you can start ironing.   As you iron an area of fabric you can place a piece of freezer paper glossy side down to wrong side of fabric and iron over the freezer paper.   It adheres itself to the fabric and all you do is cut out as you go along.  Then when you are ready you can place in printer and print anything you want on your fabic sheets.  I make these up ahead of time so I have them onhand for when I need some.  But I have found out that if you do make them out ahead of time keep them in a flat place or the corners will curl up. Then you will have to reiron them.  Then after 24 hours you can peel the paper off the back.  I usually color fast them by waiting 24 hours for them to dry, then rinsing them under cold water.  Then place them on a towel and dab them with a paper towel.  Then iron dry on high setting. Then you are done.  But I have saved a lot of money with this idea and I hope you all can find this helpful.

When making photocopies of paper piecing patterns, quilt patterns, stencilling patterns, ALWAYS check your first copy against the original to make sure the copier isn't distorting the size.  Some copiers will not copy exactly the same size and will be just a tad off either larger or smaller.  For accurate blocks and consistency, always check to make sure they are the same.  If they are not the same, adjust your copy size just slightly until you get the exact size you want and copy enough to finish your quilt.

I do a lot of printing on fabric from my computer, so I have my fabric already pretreated with my chemical fixative. This fabric is rough cut into 9”x11-1/2” pieces and are stored in a clearly marked large flat plastic zip lock bag. When I get the urge to print something, I remove a fabric piece, iron it very flat. Then on the back I attach full-sheet label paper (8-1/2”x11”). I then trim the fabric to match the label. A lot of people try to iron the fabric to freezer paper, as a carrier to put the fabric through the printer, but sometime the freezer paper doesn't completely stick and bubbles are created which will causes smudges when the printer head moves over the fabric. So after trial and error, I found that the label paper works better as it immediately grabs the fabric, no ironing is needed and you can reuse the label paper four or five times. Just reattach it to it’s backing sheet between uses.

Using your home ink jet color printer, you can print directly on fabric. This is great for making your own fabric patters or name tags. The fabric is soaked in a substance called Bubble Jet Set (BJS) and allowed to dry. After drying, the fabric is then ironed onto a piece of freezer paper. The fabric and paper is then inserted directly into your color ink jet printer just as you would a regular sheet of paper. Only use an ink jet printer, since this system will not work on a laser printer and could potentially cause damage.

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.

Once you have chosen your quilt pattern, make the measuring and cutting simpler by printing directly on your fabric. Using technology you probably have at home, you can prepare the fabric using a special solution (called Bubble Jet Set) and mount the fabric onto a sheet of freezer paper. Then cut along the pattern lines that were directly printed onto the fabric. This will save you a great deal of time and ensure each piece is cut to the correct size.