The Graphics Fairy

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Freezer Paper Transfer Method + Free Paris Address Printable!

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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 contributor here on The Graphics Fairy blog. 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, you can find the link at the bottom of this post for that.) You could make one too … or a store bought one is also fine. Ikea can be a great resource for simple linens that are inexpensive, so keep that in mind.
Easy DIY Freezer Paper Transfer Method - The Graphics Fairy
Step by Step Tutorial

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DIY Transfer Project Paris Printable
To do this you will need: Your table runner (or anything you want to print on), some freezer paper, and a printer. I also used scissors and a piece of cardstock.
Step 1: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.
DIY Transfer Project Paris Printable

Step 2: 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!} Make sure you stay close to your printer so that you can guide it through.

DIY Transfer Project Paris Printable

Step 3: Print your image in reverse, and be careful not to touch the ink. It will stay wet until the next step and you don’t want it to smudge.

DIY Transfer Project Paris Printable
Step 4: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, just to make sure that everything was in place.

DIY Transfer Project Paris Printable
Step 5: After you’ve ironed it down, put the runner on a hard surface (like a table) and use something to burnish down the paper even more. (I used a wooden spoon for this) 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.

DIY Transfer Project Paris Printable
Step 6: Then peel off the paper – and you are done! The ironing makes the paper grab to the fabric, so it will be a bit like peeling off tape.

DIY Transfer Project Paris Printable

I love the imperfect, slightly vintage look of this method.

DIY Transfer Project Paris Printable

Want the graphic? We’ve got two versions of the printable used in this project below. One is front facing (like in the picture) and the second one is reversed, or mirrored. You can Grab them both below!
I hope you enjoyed this fun Freezer Paper Transfer Method. It’s such a great technique! See ya next week for another project! You can find instructions for sewing the table runner on my blog Here. 




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Comments

  1. Ms. Redo says

    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

  2. Anonymous says

    This is so cool! Is the ink permanent? How does it stand up in the wash? Thanks for sharing!!

    • Nancy Humble says

      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!!!!

    • Judy Burrington says

      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.

    • Gina Luker says

      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!

    • Kimberly says

      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.

    • Anonymous says

      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!!

      • Judy Burrington says

        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.

      • Judy Burrington says

        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.

      • CeeJay says

        Wax paper has more of a waxed surface. Freezer paper has a plastic surface. When you iron freezer paper the plastic melts and adheres to the fabric but doesn’t melt INTO the fabric like wax will. Wax paper WILL work but freezer paper works best.

  4. Gina Luker says

    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!

    • sarah says

      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.

    • Judy Burrington says

      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.

  5. Sherrie says

    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)

  8. Karen- The Graphics Fairy says

    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!

  9. William says

    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.

  12. Anonymous says

    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.

  13. Becky Green says

    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!!!!!!! 🙂

  15. Trayne1837 says

    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

  16. Marianne says

    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.

    • MaryB. says

      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.

    • JessLS says

      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…:-)

    • Anonymous says

      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?

  18. GGBunnie says

    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? 🙂

    • Karen- The Graphics Fairy says

      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.

    • GGBunnie says

      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.

  19. Rachel says

    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?

    • Amy says

      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.

    • Lou Jean Derouen says

      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.

    • Genevieve says

      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.”

  29. Anonymous says

    DOES NOT work on felt!!!! Very upsetting! I tried 8 different ways, with different settings on the printer and it just doesn’t work. 🙁

    • Karen Watson says

      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.

    • Karen Watson says

      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.

  34. Crystal says

    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!

  39. Anonymous says

    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?

  42. Anonymous says

    I would also like to know how you print in reverse (something other than the template provided here).

  43. Amy says

    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?

    • Karen Watson says

      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.

  44. Mary Ann says

    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.

  45. Karren says

    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!

  48. Linda M says

    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?

  49. Anonymous says

    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?

  50. Anthrounit says

    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..

    • TxDisneyFan says

      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! 🙁

  52. Pat Smeback says

    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!

  53. k r Munro says

    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.

  54. Linda Wohlford says

    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.

  55. RanRan says

    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.

  58. sillsuthcork says

    Freezer paper is not sold here,(Ireland) nor are there quilt shops – so what would be the equivalent or alternative for this product please?

  60. Isabelle says

    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.

  61. LILOU says

    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

  62. César says

    Hello, beautiful article!
    Is it possible to use this method on silk and cashmere?
    Thank you!

  63. Thia says

    I’m excited to try this! One question I have is: how do you preserve the image once it’s transferred?

    • graphicsfairy says

      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:)

  64. Rita Cristina Frissong says

    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?

    • graphicsfairy says

      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!

    • graphicsfairy says

      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!

  67. Naomi says

    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.

  68. Melissa says

    I am curious how this would work for a large project. I have an old sofa picture that I want to put fabric on the existing picture. This fabric is what I want to put a scripture on. I know that if I used a word program it would print several sheets to form the entire wording so would that matter as for the time laps in getting it set up on the fabric to be ironed?

    • graphicsfairy says

      I have never tried in on such a large project Melissa, maybe give it a try on scrap fabric first to see how it looks? I don’t see why it wouldn’t though. Good luck!

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