Thursday 8 October 2015

Transfer Printing


Hi everybody ! It's Toni here with another of our monthly Inspirational Posts. I've chosen to share a few ideas about using Tee Shirt Transfer Paper. The transfer paper I've used here, was bought from our local Asda supermarket. It costs just over £3, for a pack of five A4 sheets and is the type that is used for light coloured tee shirts. As well as printing on the paper with an ink jet printer, the paper can be stamped, stenciled or brayered with inks. I've also used Distress Markers for colouring and even tried using acrylic paint but found this wasn't very successful. The advantages of using a printer are many. For example, images can be manipulated by changing the colours or re-sizing  and of course they can be reproduced numerous times. The other fantastic advantage, is that as bloggers and crafters, we all have a wealth of beautiful images from our past projects already  stored on our computers ! The printed papers shown above are from a selection of my past projects and this is what I did with one of them. It's a transfer printed calico tote bag......
I've used an inkjet print of a Warhol style canvas I made a couple of years ago. The 'frame' has been made with hand cut strips of transfer paper that had been firstly brayered with Distress ink, then stenciled with black Archival Ink.
It's easy enough to brayer the ink onto the transfer paper as it has a smooth, coating on the surface surface which readily absorbs the colour. I'ts important not to over wet the paper, as the coated layer could break down and separate from the backing. It should be left to dry thoroughly before stamping or stenciling, but don't use a heat gun as it is heat that activates the transfer process.
The instructions, included in the pack for ironing the transfer paper onto fabric, are easy enough to follow. Just remember to use a firm surface. I used a piece board on top of my ironing board and had my iron, without steam, at a the highest setting. I found that it took longer to transfer the image than stated in the instructions. I ironed on the central image first, then covered it with baking parchment, so that I could iron on the individual strips to make the frame. The baking parchment will stick to the image but it can be carefully peeled off whilst it's still warm. Once I'd ironed all the pieces on and removed the backing paper, I used a black Sharpie pen to outline the picture and the frame.
Here is another bag I made a while ago. This time the images were created directly on to the transfer paper, with stamps, stencils and inks.....
The bag is of a very simple construction, if anyone wants more details about how to make this, let me know. Here are a couple more examples of printed fabric using the direct printing method using brayering and stamping.......

Well, you might have guessed that I love using transfer paper and I know there's a lot more to discover about it. I hope this post might have inspired you to give it a go. Until the next time I'm here, happy creating ! x

10 comments:

  1. Absolutely stunning idea Toni, some really lovely creations there, thanks for sharing and guess who'll be getting some soon to try out!
    Hugs
    Donna xxx

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  2. Wow Toni, what a fabulous post, so inspirational and such amzing results. Something I've never tried but boy do I want to now. Awesome!! Ruth x

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  3. Thankyou Ruth and Donna, glad to hear you'll be giving this a try! One important thing I forgot to say is that if you are using text , remember to use the mirror image or flip facility on your printer, it's very easyy to forget .....as I found out ! Xx

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  4. An inspirational piece Tony, this is going on my list of things to try out soon.
    Yvonne xx

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  5. Fantastic Toni ! The details and quality of the images you've achieved is fabulous ! Sue C x

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  6. Your projects are fabulous Toni! This is not a technique I have tried but I think I am tempted to have a go now... thank you for sharing! Anne xx

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  7. Toni! These are so cool!! I absolutely love the Warhol looking one! Thanks so much for sharing how you did this-might have to give it a go myself!
    Jackie xo

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  8. Fabulous results with the transfers Toni....love the last two projects x must give this a try x TFS and best wishes
    Annie x

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  9. Love this idea Toni! Stunning tutorial and the bag is gorgeous. I'm off to Asda then. . . . ! Juliaxx

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  10. Love it all, especially the bag. Thank you for a brilliant inspiration post Toni... Sharon xx

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