Memory quilts are a wonderful way to express pride in
your family history, commemorate a special occasion,
or honor a special person. The process of transferring
photos to fabric is much easier and more reliable today
than ever before.
First, you will need a scanner or digital camera to
transfer your photos into your computer. After
scanning or uploading your photos, you can open up the
image files in a photo editing program to resize, make
corrections to color, balance, and contrast, and add
special effects. I recommend increasing the color
saturation of images to make the colors much more vivid
when printed onto fabric. I use and highly recommend
Paint Shop Pro for this purpose. If you'd like to
try it out, you can download a fully functional trial
version from the Jasc.com website.
Choose a printer that is optimized for printing
photographs. Don't go out and buy a new printer
until you've tried your own! You may be surprised at
the quality of printed images from your own printer.
If you are in the market for a new printer and you
would like one that works great for photo transfer to
fabric, I recommend the Hewlett Packard DeskJet 1220cse
Printer.
After you have edited and resized your photos, you are
ready to print. I suggest printing at least one photo
out on regular inkjet paper (or photo paper) to make
sure that the image is the correct size and the colors
are correct. If you are satisfied, you can load up
the printer with fabric sheets.
You have two choices as far as fabric sheets go. You
can purchase inkjet printer fabric sheets ready to
print, or you can make your own. The second option
is a more cost effective method, but it will require
some time and energy to prepare the fabric sheets for
the printing process.
If you plan to make your own printable fabric, you
will need the following: Bubble Jet Set 2000, Bubble
Jet Set Rinse, white or ivory fabric (muslin or
pimatex), plastic flat pan, freezer paper cut into
8-1/2" x 11" sheets, iron, ironing board, rubber gloves,
rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat. Bubble Jet Set
2000 and Bubble Jet Set Rinse are available from
several online sources. (You can find Bubble Jet products
at www.CreateForLess.com
by entering it in the search box.)
Should you make your own printable fabric? If you are
making one small project and not really planning to do
anymore, I'd recommend using the ready made inkjet
printer fabric sheets. If you are planning a large
project, or if you think this is something that you'll
be doing a lot of, you should definitely try making
your own printable fabric. The ready-made sheets retail
for about $12 for a package of three sheets. You can make
your own for about 75 cents per sheet.
If you are ready to explore the possibilities of printing
on fabric, then it is time to pay a visit the site of
Caryl Bryer Fallert. She is
an award winning quilt artist who makes beautiful fabric
with her computer. On her website, you can see her
stunning quilt, "Stars of Africa". All of the fabric for
this quilt was made using photos that she took during a
teaching tour of South Africa. She also offers a very
informative and detailed Q & A page about Bubble Jet
Set 2000.
There is no doubt that quilting is a creative activity.
Transferring photos to fabric takes that creativity to a
new and exciting level. The possibilities of this
technique are limited only by the scope of our
imaginations!
Copyright 2003 by Kim Noblin
About the Author
Kim Noblin is the owner/editor of BlockCentral.com. Visit
her site to find quilting ideas and inspirations, along
with one of the largest directories of free quilt patterns
on the internet.
