Transfer Paints

My friend and I got together today to 'play' with some transfer paints. I've used them before but really did nothing artistic with them. To use these paints, paint or stamp them onto paper. Wait for the transfer paint to dry and then turn the image over and place it onto your fabric. Make sure to use man-made fabrics as transfer paints will not work on natural fabrics. When you have the image positioned on the fabric, iron over the image using the hottest setting allowed for the fabric. Do this for a couple of minutes to make sure the image has transferred to the fabric. I always turn up a corner to check.

The painted image can be used several times, however it will become faded after a couple of uses. Today I wasn't pleased with the intensity of the images when ironed onto the fabric. These paints are a different brand from the ones I used previously. However, I will try this again when I have a project in mind. Here's some photos from today's 'play' session. In the first photo, the paint was brushed onto ordinary white paper.  When it was dry, it was ironed onto the fabric. In the 3rd photo, the image was ironed onto polyester satin. It's hard to tell here, but the fabric gives off a lustre. I use this type of fabric for my skies in landscapes. However, I dye the fabric instead of using transfer paints.

It was an interesting day!

This was the temperature in my back garden when I got back home at 4 pm. We are having summer temperatures in May - not a common occurrence in Newfoundland!

Printing on Fabric

Years ago (1999), when I first started in the business of creating fabric landscapes, rock fabric was the hardest to find. When I did come across any, it was way off scale. So I decided to search for other methods to get the fabrics I wanted. My search led me to Bubble Jet Set 2000, invented and manufactured by the C. Jenkins Co. This product 'has revolutionized the way we print on fabric!' As they further state, this non-toxic chemical formula is designed to treat fabric so that permanent images could be printed directly on fabric using an Ink Jet Printer. I have been using this product for years. I take lots of photos of rocks and cliffs to be used in fabric printing. However, I will usually manipulate the photo, sometimes stretching it, before printing out a page of 'rocks'. When working on a piece of art, I will cut up the page and make rocks the size needed for it. I prefer to use silk instead of cotton for the 'rocks' as it is so nice to needle turn and applique in place.

I do print my fabric labels onto 200 thread count cotton (see photo below). After I print and heat set the labels, I put 'fast 2 fuse' interfacing on the back before cutting them out. The labels are ironed on to a project as well as stitched in place. I really don't trust the 'glue' for long time use. I have purchased pretreated white cotton from C. Jenkins and this cuts down on production time. The silk, however, still has to be treated with the liquid.

The iceberg, shown on the second photo, was printed onto cotton, cutout and stitched in place. The sandy beach is from recycled silk that was purchased at Value Village (second hand clothing shop). These shops sometimes have clothes that are perfect for a particular project. All the leather and suede used for the backs of my wearable art pins, come from such places. And, it's way cheaper than going to a tannery for scraps.

Tip for the Day: Cleaning Your Iron

I read somewhere on the web that Magic Erasers were great for cleaning the soleplate of an iron. I decided to try it today. Well, it really works. I spritzed the eraser and ironed over it with a hot iron until the bottom was clean. You may have to spritz the eraser multiple times depending on how dirty the iron is. However, don't pick up the eraser until it cools a bit! Guess how I know that . . .

I have used the commercial iron cleaners in the past. Most of them smoke a bit when wiped on a hot iron. I don't like that side affect. However, the eraser method is perfect. I also found out that the cheap ones at the $ Shop are just as good as the more expensive ones.

The Slipper

My sister gave me a very handy gadget for Christmas - The Slipper. It is a soleplate attachment made from a "durable space-age material" (looks like silicone to me), which makes ironing safe for every fabric. The non-stick material glides over all fabrics. I tried it on delicate fabrics using the highest setting on my iron and it works! 

This gadget was designed by Joanne Klassen and is distributed by:
Little Foot, Ltd.
PO Box 1027
Chama NM 87520

I couldn't find any mention of it on the web so if anyone comes across a website for these, I'd appreciate hearing about it.