Freezer Paper Transfer Method
Hi, I’m Gina! You may know me from my blog, The Shabby Creek Cottage. I’m so very excited to be a new contributor for The Graphics Fairy. It’s such an honor to be among such a creative crew!
This week, I’m sharing a pretty simple project, for the Freezer Paper Transfer Method. {I love this awesome technique!} I started with this table runner (you can learn how to make it over at my blog.)
To do this you’ll need: Your runner (or anything you want to print on), some freezer paper, and a printer. I also used scissors and a piece of cardstock.
First you need to cut your freezer paper to the size of a sheet of paper. I had cardstock on hand, so I used it as a template and cut with scissors. You could also use a mat and cut it 8 1/2 x 11. Either way works great.
Now put the cut piece of freezer paper in your printer – you’ll want it so that the plastic side will receive the ink. {Please excuse my messy cabinet!}
Print your image in reverse, and be careful not to touch the ink. It will stay wet until the next step.
Carefully lay it down on the fabric where you want the graphic and iron it down. Make sure your iron is set on NO steam. I ironed about 60 seconds to make sure everything was in place.
After you’re ironed down, put the runner on a hard surface (like a table) and use something to burnish down the paper even more. I did it with and without this step – it really does make a big difference! Just rub, rub, rub and make sure that you’ve went over all of the graphic.
Then peel off the paper – and you’re done! The ironing makes the paper grab to the fabric, so it’ll be a bit like peeling off tape.
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| Click HERE for the Full Size Printable PDF |
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| Click HERE for the Reverse Full Size Printable PDF |
![SCCPostSigSummer[4]](https://thegraphicsfairy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/SCCPostSigSummer4.png)
Love your table runner, Gina – and such a great clear tutorial, I think I will finally try to make a transfer onto fabric. Thanks so much for sharing, can’t wait to see what you’re making next week. Mary
This is so cool! Is the ink permanent? How does it stand up in the wash? Thanks for sharing!!
I love this method of transfer but cannot find any way to make it permanent. I’ve looked for information on permanent ink cartridges and can’t find anything. I want to make purses with this method but the ink rubs off. Help!!!!
Hi Nancy, the type of printer that you buy matters. I don’t think you can just buy permanent ink for any printer. I use an Epson, which uses water resistant ink. You can find my post about that here https://thegraphicsfairy.com/the-best-printers-for-crafting/ I hope that helps!
Heat sets the ink. After you iron your design onto your fabric let it set for a little bit, 15 minutes or so, then go back over the ink on the fabric with the iron on cotton setting for a minute or two. That will set the ink permanently.
I know it works because I do it all the time for my labels.
Thanks again Judy for your wonderful advice 🙂
My pleasure. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to share my experience.
When you iron your image the 2nd time, do you leave the freezer paper on or do you iron it after you’ve taken it off? Thanks!
The ink will not stand up in the wash and is not permanent unless you do this: after you have applied the lettering to your fabric let it sit for about 10 minutes, then go back over the fabric with an iron on the cotton setting for about a minute, don’t let the iron sit in one spot for more than two seconds, though, to avoid burn marks. That sets the ink permanently.
I wish I could find freezer paper around here…I’ve looked at Target and Walmart and cannot find it. Any sources?
Sarah, Did you try your grocery store? Mine has it in the same section as Aluminum foil.
I had a hard time finding it, too. Bashas didn’t carry it and we didn’t find it at our Walmart either. My husband end up finding it at Costco.
Hi Sarah, I found mine at Walmart, in the area where the aluminum foil is. You can also try your local grocery stores, too. I found it “hidden” on the very bottom shelf 🙂 Hope this helps!
Costco has a big roll of freezer paper (we use a lot of it for quilting) for around $40 give or take. You can also get it at grocery stores in smaller rolls or walmart in smaller rolls – it will be with the foil and saran wrap. It is great for applique patterns because you can iron it over and over using the same pattern many times.
Wal-mart does have it. You’ll find it in the area where the canning jars are. I found some there. THe freezer paper is not with the freezer bags, etc. Their way of stocking just blows my mind!!
Good to know! Who would have guessed.
I would bet wax paper would work
Wax paper would work, but it is waxed on both sides so you need to set your iron hotter and put thin material between the wax paper and the iron so you don’t ruin your iron. I’ve read that freezer paper works best, but I have not tried them both to know for fact.
Thanks Judy!
I think wax paper would work much better for transferring onto wood. I tried the freezer paper method on wood and didn’t like it because the ink looked smeared and the ink is too light so I ended up having to paint the letters. But, at least the freezer paper method did make a wonderful stencil template for me to paint over. Which is really great because you are guaranteed to have your letters spaced evenly.
As for printing on fabric if the fabric is thin I apply Wonder Under to it, cut it out to regular paper size and put it right in the printer and print directly onto the fabric. I absolutely LOVE this method, the ink is nice and dark this way. Then iron it for a minute to set the ink permanently. That is how I do my clothing labels and quilt labels. The Wonder Under has a peel off backing so you can iron your printed fabric onto something else, like quilt, clothing, towels, etc. It is found in the fabric section of the store.
I bought mine at a large Walmart.
I think it the same as wax paper
It’s a little different, Freezer paper has a shiny side and a papery side. I don’t think I would try wax paper in a printer, the wax might come off and gum up the machine.
I printed today on wax paper for wood transfers and it worked ok. It is not very user friendly while cutting the wax paper to size though.
Yes Jann, that can be tricky but glad it worked for you!
Hi Anon,
The type of ink your printer takes determines whether or not it is permanent. My printer is permanent, but there are a few brands out there that are not. A quick google search can tell you if yours is.
Thanks so much!
There is a liquid you can buy that you can use to make inkjet printer ink permanent. From memory you soak the fabric in the solution for 5 minutes and then let it dry, then do the image transfer as per this tutorial, then let that dry and then you wash it to remove the solution residue and it is permanent. I actually make labels for my business using this solution.
Do you know what it is called or where you bought the solution to make the ink permanent?
Any Inkjet printer will work wonderfully. You just have to iron over the applied ink for a minute to set it permanently.
This doesn’t not work with laser printers, it must be an inkjet.
Hi girls! Love your collaboration! Genius!
Gina did you use an inkjet or laser jet printer?
Can’t wait to see what you come up with next :0)
Hola , muchas gracias por el tuto y por la explicacion
Besos
Hello, cool tutorial. I’m just unclear if this is a laser or inkjet printer. Thanks!
Hi everyone. Gina used an inkjet printer that uses waterproof ink. I use a similar type of printer. If your printer does not use waterproof ink, then I would make sure to only use this technique on projects that you won’t be washing. This method works great on wood too!
Great to have another fabulous crafter showing off all the wonderful images that Karen shares with everyone. Said it before-this is the BEST site out there for artists/crafters. Amazing that we have this resource.
LOVE this!!!! Oh yay oh yay oh yaaaaayyy!
How do you print it in reverse? Is there a printer setting?
Actually, I’ve already made a reverse version of the image, it’s the last one on this post, just above Gina’s name. I hope that helps!
Is wax paper the same as freezer paper? We have different products in canada, just like i can’t find CitriSolve for doing transfers and was wondering if other orange solvents will also work.
If you look in my right sidebar, in my “popular posts” section, you will see an orange button with “12 easy image transfer methods” on it. Click on the button and when you get to the post, you will see a method for wax paper. Also, some one from Canada told me that she had success with an orange solvent product that she found there, I don’t know what brand it was though. Have fun transferring!
A picture is worth a thousand words:
http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/product.asp?prod_id=1798
This is the freezer paper I found in the grocery store. I believe the difference between freezer paper is that freezer paper is coated on only one side with wax and wax paper is coated on both sides. Also, looks like freezer paper is made with heavier paper.
link to 12 easy image transfers (I didn’t find Karen’s link on her right sidebar) http://www.graphicsfairy-diy.com/2012/01/12-easy-image-transfer-methods-for-diy.html
WOW! You ladies are GREAT! Asking ALLL the RIGHT QUESTIONS! I don’t have any now!!!!!!!!!! LOL 🙂 Thank you for the printable & reverse! 🙂 (P.S. If you’d add the URL thingy to your Graphics Fairy blog, I’d leave you comments there too! 🙂 ) LOVE your blog!!!!!!! 🙂
LOVE this project, girls! Thanks for the great tutorial and fabulous graphics!!!! 🙂
xoxo laurie
Oh, this is fantastic. I do lots of things for the theatre… and I can use this method for transferring a pattern and then using the dimensional paints… so great
This seems like a great method for transferring a pattern. Freezing paper can not be bought at grocery stores in the Netherlands, but I order a length at a hobby shop. I am looking forward to give it a t try.
Marianne, when I lived in England you could find freezer paper at quilt shops. If there is one near to where you live you might try calling them and see if they stock it or they may be able to tell you where you can get it.
Hi Marianne,
I’ve just found out Bol.com (same as Amazon.com) do sell freezerpaper sheets (used for quilting)- 30 sheets for €8.99! 😀 Delivery within 3 days!
Good luck! Succes ermee…:-)
I too live in the UK and found is on Amazon.co.uk they even have a brand for this purpose called quilters freezer paper sheets. I am going to start trying this. I just have no way of know if my ink is waterproof or not – nothing on the packaging for HP Photosmart printers if the ink is waterproof – any guidance on the brand to use?
Awesome- going to give it a try.
Thanks
I was so excited to try this method, while waiting for my CitriSolve to arrive…I have followed all intructions to the letter, but….my Dell inkjet printer will not print on the shiny side of the paper. Any thoughts or ideas anyone? 🙂
Hi GG, Oh, that’s a shame! Maybe try some different settings on your printer and see if that works, you might try selecting a higher quality print setting or even a lower one and see if that makes a difference.
It worked!!! I had to go to “Properties” and there is a setting for “coated” paper as well as glossy, etc… My first transfer is good enough to sew into a pillow 🙂
Just want to share a few tips I also learned. My freezer paper curled and would not go throught the printer so I attached it to a regular sheet of printer paper with a small piece of double face tape at each corner…problem solved.
I now have THREE pillow (covers) to sew…Big SMILE!
I also misted my fabric with water from a spray bottle. Just a fine mist to get it damp.
VERY happy that I stuck with this and didn’t give up. Well worth the trial and error.
Ok, I just tried this method. I followed the directions but when I peeled the paper off, NO print stayed on the fabric! It all peeled up with the paper. What did I do wrong?
Did you get it figured out? I printed my reverse image on 16 sheets of freezer paper and nothing is staying on the fabric for me either! I hate to waste even more paper! I have a Dell inkjet printer too, so I may try that. Just curious if you figured out your problem. Thank you.
Please read the instructions again. It is mentioned that you need to burnish the letters to be sure that they will transfer and not stay on the freezer paper.
Thanks so much for this tutorial using wax paper to transfer. This is so helpful. I can’t wait to try this.
oops! I mean freezer paper!
Thanks for the great tutorial. Now to see if the ink my printer uses is permanent or not!
Thank you very much for the tuto, Gina, so GREATTTTTT!!!
And my compliments, Karen, for an awesome blog full of lovely graphics!!!!
Hugs both of you,
Paloma
Thank you for the great tutorial!
For future use on different graphics, can you please tell us how to print in reverse?
Hi gme, I’ve done this before on Picasa, using Ctrl Shift V for a vertical flip and Ctrl Shift H for a horizontal flip.
Almost any graphics program can reverse an image. If you don’t have another graphics program, GIMP is a free download and it does all the standard things that most people ever need. In GIMP, open the image and then click “Image”, then “Transform”, and then “Flip horizontally.”
I’m looking forward to trying this!
Thanks for sharing and I can’t wait to try this!!
Wow that is a really, really great idea! The result is fantastic. It does look so vintage. Thanks for sharing!
http://www.cuteanduseful.com
Just wonder, does the image stays after washing?
DOES NOT work on felt!!!! Very upsetting! I tried 8 different ways, with different settings on the printer and it just doesn’t work. 🙁
The felt is probably to fuzzy to accept the ink. Sorry it didn’t work for you. I like to use Canvas Drop Cloth, it’s a nice weight for the printer, and it takes the ink really well.
Thank you for the awesome tutorial!!!
I am excited too to find waterproof ink!
I am trying to find out if my machine takes waterproof ink and can't find any info. on it ..any suggestions on how you found out ?
Most Epson printers use waterproof ink (although not all, so make sure you get the right one if you’re shopping for a new printer). If you don’t have an Epson, you probably don’t have waterproof ink.
I use pre-cut 8 1/2 x 11 freezer paper from Dharma Trading Co.
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/500944-AA.shtml
Since I do a lot of stencil cut outs this is economical and time saving for me. Works great!
I highlighted this wonderful technique on my little blog at http://wadelmat.blogspot.com/ Thanks!
Thank you that sooo great i love it
hugs Conny
Was so excited to do this and couldn’t get it to work 🙁 The image was transferred very slightly but greenish, not black like what was printed. Any suggestions? Would love to get this to work. Thanks!
I am SO stinkin’ excited I found this! Thanks so much for sharing!!
-Fotini
I think this is a great idea. I’m going to try to do it tomorrow.
wonderful, can’t wait to try…
Thanks
The correct English is “gone over” not “went over.”
Why did you have to write that? What satisfaction did you get from that?
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I have been looking and looking for this, need it for a christmas present…but do you have any suggestions with a laser printer? Will this work since that is permanent?
I wish I could answer this for you, but Gina and I both have inkjet printers. Sorry!
just so everyone knows- this is the exact same process you can use it with WAX paper as well
I am still confused on how you print your image in reverse?
Try using Picmonkey.com it's free and easy to use!
I would also like to know how you print in reverse (something other than the template provided here).
Try using Picmonkey.com
Any thoughts on using burlap? I just tried this technique doing all the steps correcty and the image did not transfer. Someone suggested I ask Kinko's?
Amy, Burlap can be tough to transfer to, because the weave is so loose. The best method that I have found for burlap is using Iron on Transfer paper. I use a brand called Tap, which works really well, and can be found on Amazon. I have a couple of posts here that show you how to use it, if you do a search for my Union Jack Pillow project, you will find more info there.
I absolutely love your site. It's amazing and you will be featured on my site soon. Your Pinterst boards opened so many new ideas for me. I'm VERY new to the blog world, so any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I am totally addicted to this site and your other site. I took tea towels and transferred this same graphic on it for Christmas presents. I put them in Mason Jars with bright green jingle bells. They were a big hit!
wow, thanks for the great tutorials!
kudzu
Will color ink transfer or only black ink?
I did everything the tutorial said, transferring it to painters cloth, etc., but the image was so faint that I could barely see it. I burnished on a hard surface, I ironed it non-steam. Any idea how to get the image darker?
For some reason, when I print onto my Freezer paper, the ink fades away as it dries so that my image is hardly visible. Does anyone know what would be causing this and how I can fix it?
I was printing on my Epson Artisan 810 with a sheet of freezer paper I cut to fit in it and the image always comes out with the ink beading up on the paper like its using to much or something. Ive been testing this out on different printer settings for paper type and Ive noticed some differences but anyone care to share how they are printing or if they are printing pictures and not just text? I specifically want to know what paper type your selecting and quality of the photo the size, right now any info would be helpful. So far the tests ive done with the images ive ironed on look about the same as when they are fresh out of the printer..
Did you figure out what to do? I have the same printer. I thought it looked pretty good transferred onto a t-shirt (it did look faded- but to me that made it look kind of vintage). However, today when I touched the image on the shirt, the ink came off onto my hand! 🙁
So, who can tell me how i can make non-water fast ink permanent on fabric ? Thanks.
Love this idea! Question I haven’t seen addressed: You mention that the ink will stay wet until placed on the fabric. Have you had problems with incorrect positioning? I don’t want to put it down and think, aw, it’s crooked” and then not be able to move it because some ink has already soaked in. Has anyone had an issue with this? Thanks for the lovely idea!
what a great idea. Would allowing image to dry and then misting fabric with hairspray first work? I’ve been looking up transfer methods all morning and hairspray features quite a lot. I am off to try transfer method with freezer paper and wood…
also think that coating surface with watered down pva or modge podge and allowed to dry would solve this problem as it is used to transfer images direct from paper.
If I want to use my own word image. How do you get it to print in reverse? Thanks so much. Love your work, You are so dedicated to your site!! Thank you.
Check your printer options. You might have to push a few buttons to find them. My current “mirror image” option is under “Layout.” Some word processing programs give you that option, as well.
I am so excited to try this!! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you
Freezer paper is not sold here,(Ireland) nor are there quilt shops – so what would be the equivalent or alternative for this product please?
You could always use Iron on Transfer Paper. Or maybe you could buy Freezer Paper online? Have you tried Amazon?
Hey Gina!
Thank you for this lovely tutorial. I was wondering whether the print is permanent. Does it wash off?
merci Gina pour tes idées merveilleuses ! J’ai enfin fini par trouver ce fameux papier (j’habite en France) sur Amazon. Je vais pouvoir tester et j’ai hâte d’essayer.
Bonjour, quand vous dite du papier congelateur?? vous voulez dire du papier sulfurisé??? je vous remercie de votre réponse. et bonne continuation c’est magnifique!!!!! lilou
Hello, beautiful article!
Is it possible to use this method on silk and cashmere?
Thank you!
I haven’t tried it on Silk or Cashmere, if you try it, test it out on a scrap piece first to see if it works. 🙂
I’m excited to try this! One question I have is: how do you preserve the image once it’s transferred?
Hi Thia,
This post was written by Gina over at The Shabby Creek Cottage, she did not use a sealant for her table runner but you could use a spray sealant if you would like to:)
Hola Gina, soy de Argentina y no se a que le llamas papel congelador, es un plástico que se usa para separar los alimentos en el freezer? o puede ser papel parafinado o papel manteca que se usa en repostería? me encantaría probar esta técnica de transferencia, pero no tengo idea de que es papel congelador!!! puedes ayudarme?
Hola Rita,
papel de congelador es papel grueso con un recubrimiento de plástico o cera en un lado. Se diferencia de pergamino, que no tiene revestimiento, y el papel de cera, que tiene un revestimiento sobre ambos lados. Es posible que pueda usar papel de cera, pero poner un paño de cocina o algo de luz en la parte superior de la tranfer antes de realizar la transferencia térmica a fin de no obtener la cera sobre la plancha ya que el papel de cera tiene la cera en ambos lados. ¡Buena suerte!
I JUST TRIED TO DO A FREEZER PAPER TRANSFER AND IT DID NOT TRANSFER. I HAVE A LASER PRINTER…UGGGG
Sorry about that Bonnie 🙁 Gina said in her tutorial, “you’ll want it so that the plastic side will receive the ink.” Did you do that? I’m not sure other than that, and that you used freezer paper and not wax paper? Maybe give it another try? Sorry I’m not being more helpful!
Have no idea how to print something in reverse. The method to do so was not discussed. Help would be greatly appreciated.
Bettye
Hi Bettye,
Here is a link which will show you how to reverse images, https://thegraphicsfairy.com/how-to-reverse-images-for-transfers/
I hope this helps 🙂
The vintage look is effective but the choice of text is not appealing. “Objets de pansements” refers to bandages mainly used in surgery by hospitals and clinics.