How to Print on Fabric Easily
Some of you guys may know that one of my favorite crafting techniques is printing on Fabric! I love how professional the fabric looks when the images are printed directly on it…the quality is truly amazing! Even though it’s super easy to do, you can’t just pop the fabric right into your printer, you will need to stabilize the fabric or it will jam your printer. I’ve shared several different methods on my blog and I decided to round them all up in one place.
I’m also including some links to a couple of my friends blogs, who also have fabric printing techniques and I’ll include a bonus tip at the end that you won’t want to miss!
Print in Fabric Techniques:
1) Freezer Paper Method This is a post that I wrote recently. I believe this technique is probably the least expensive method, providing that you can find Freezer Paper where you live. It’s readily available in the U.S., but not so easy to find in some international countries.
2) Label Method This is the method that I use most often, because it’s the fastest! This tutorial was written by Gail from My Repurposed Life, she has lots of clear photos so you can really see how nice the printing looks on the fabric!
3) Spray Adhesive Method This method is very similar to the two above. But instead of using freezer paper or labels, you just use plain cardstock and adhere it to the fabric with spray adhesive. You must make sure to trim up the fabric so that it does not hang over the edges of the cardstock. Also, if you are using an expensive fabric, do a test on a small portion to make sure that the adhesive doesn’t ruin the fabric. I recommend reading the Freezer paper method instructions, and then swapping it out for the adhesive spray and cardstock, for more guidance.
4) Printable Fabric Sheets This is a great method to start with, especially if you are nervous about putting things in your printer, other than paper. This is a fool proof, no worry product and there is a project and printable included on the post.
5) Photo Fabric Printing Solution For this technique my friend Beckie, from Infarrantly Creative, shows you how to make a homemade solution to apply to your fabric, before printing it. I have not tried this technique myself, but it looks like it’s an optimal method when printing Photographs on fabric.
6) Professional Printing with Spoonflower Ok, you can’t actually use your home printer for this one but, if you haven’t discovered this site before, it’s really cool! This one is the most expensive, it’s a company that prints the fabric for you. You just upload your design, choose your fabric and they mail it to you! What’s great about this is, you can print much larger sizes, since they can print on a whole yard. So you can cover chair seats or make huge pillows, something that you can’t do with an 8 1/2″ by 11″ piece of fabric. (Although you could always sew that smaller piece of fabric to a larger one, but that might not always be the look that you want.) I have tried this service myself, with great results!
7) How to Set your Ink This is a bonus tip that may NOT work for everyone. You can try soaking your printed fabric in Vinegar afterwards to set it and make it more permanent. Some people have said that this worked for them and for others it did not. It probably depends on the type of printer that you have and the ink that you use. It’s worth experimenting with though to see if it works for you!
8) How to get Good Quality Prints from your Home Printer Another Bonus Tip! This one goes over things like Print Settings, Choosing a Printer and more that you might find handy.
Just so you know, I believe all of these were done with inkjet printers. I hope you enjoy these fun tutorials for printing on fabric!
Want to know How to Print on Other Stuff? Be sure and check out How to Print on Tissue Paper HERE and How To Print on Brown Paper Bags HERE.
Vintage Style Printing Video:
You might also enjoy the video below where Emily experiments with different papers to create vintage style looks with printables!
aj says
Oh how helpful;)
Justin Carrion says
What would be the best for making a ipad 3 sleeve
justin carrion says
Im trying to make a sleeve for my iPad 3 with a logo I made in Photoshop. Which method would work the best?
Sally Spindler says
I have wracked my brain trying to find the post you had a few days ago about the free program you can download to print the graphics as large as you want using multiple sheets of paper. This may not be the place to request this but if anyone can help, I would appreciate it. I just love your blog and the links to the talented and creative people that share my passion. Thank you a thousand times over for posting these beautiful images each day.
Pam says
Can you please tell me what kind of printer you use that has permanent ink? I tried the vinegar method and all the ink ran and what was left turned from red to brown. I purchased a Canon printer specifically for printing on fabric and didn’t know about the ink being water based and not permanent. I will have to return it and get another one and I would like it to use pigment ink or permanent ink. Thanks so much!
Karen Watson says
Hi Pam, I use an Epson. Many of the Epsons use Pigment ink, but not all of them, so you will need to check with the salesperson to make sure. If you click on the “FAQ” link at the bottom of this post, you can read more about my printer.
Pam says
Thanks so much Karen for the information! It appears that the WF 1100 has been discontinued and replaced with the WF 7010 which is out of stock everywhere 🙁 I will keep researching but will definitely buy some kind of Epson.
Kim W says
I can not wait to try some of these methods out!!
Catherine says
I tried using the vinegar to set the dye on my fabric print. I am afraid it didn’t work at all on my ink. All the color came right out just like it does in water. 🙁
Hil says
Has anyone ever tried spraying fabric with fabric stiffener and putting it through a printer? I wonder if that would work.
Cynthia says
Love these methods! I really enjoy using Spoonflower. They are the”go-to” for professional fabric printing and they are reasonably affordable.
Elizabeth Smith says
Thanks for the wonderful links. I found you on the craft Gossip website and I can’t wait to try some of these ideas out.
Pat C. says
Wow! You are an angel, Karen, for compiling these for us! Now there’s no excuse for me not to try printing on fabric! Thank you so much! xoxo
mj says
heres a 7th way: use an 8.5 x11 piece of card stock, run double sided tape around the edges, stick you fabric to it and run it theu the copier. works for me eveytime!
mjm
Karen Watson says
Wonderful! Thanks mjm!
Denise... On a Whim says
Thanks for rounding all of these up Karen! I have yet to try this but would love to. Now I have a resource when I decide to try it. 🙂
gail says
Karen,
Thanks so much for linking to My Repurposed Life in this roundup! I noticed some extra visits, so I thought I’d pop over to see why. 🙂 you rock!
gail
Karen Watson says
You’re welcome Gail!
auntie em says
Thanks for all the great links. I have never tried printing on fabric myself but it looks so good when I see it done. Maybe now is the time to get some fabric out and give this technique a whirl! Cheers!