picture quilt

[gailpeters]

I saw a couple days ago someone had a quilt with pictures. I want to make a quilt with some of my photos. What success have you had with the computer printer fabric? Does it wash with cold water. Has anyone used the bubble jet stuff that Nancy's notions has in their catalog? Seems like that is a cheaper way to go. The printable fabric is pretty pricey. I had some of the printer fabric and printed some but had marginal success. Seems like the colors ran together. Thanks for any help. I enjoy reading the posts.

[Liam]

I have made several photo quilts and I found the printer fabric sheets work the best for me. I know others have had great results with other methods, for me I like the printer fabric sheets, they are easy to use but they cost a little more than other methods. If you use the printer fabric sheets you have to make sure you follow the directions to set the ink/color from your printer, otherwise they will fade and bleed. I have several pictures of photo quilts on my webshots.

[KerriM]

The first quilt I ever did, was a photo quilt for a gift for my mom. I picked the hardest type quilt to do for a "first" quilt. It was totally pictures with just 1 1/2" sashing around all the pictures. I would post a picture, except the quilt is at my moms so maybe later I will. I made this several years ago, when the computer printer one's weren't used that much. I had to get all my pictures and take them to a copy place (Office Depot) and have them use special paper to have them color copied in mirror reverse. Once I got them home, I had to cut the pictures apart and square up. I used my ruler and rotary rcutter for this. Then I layed them upside down on muslin and used an iron to press them to the muslin. Talk about real time consuming. About halfway through, I did buy a used t-shirt press that made it alot easier. I then had to cut all the pictures out and leave a 1/4" seam allowance. I got the instructions from a book on the subject. If anyone is interested, I will post the name of it.

I was told by using this method, the pictures can be ironed and washed. Although the quilt I gave my mother has never been washed because it is a wall hanging, I don't know how it would wash up. They make a great gift. I was able to use really old photos of my grandparents and great grandparents on it. And grandkids too. As well as, my parents wedding invitation and some really neat poems.

I've only made the photo quilt this one way but I'm sure the new ways are probably easier and faster.

Kerri

[jmcclannan]

The printer fabric works great and comes in white and off-white and much of it is color-safe. I've used it on two quilts with no issues at all.

[Melora]

Hi,

I have made several photo quilts and have always used Bubble Jet. The pictures have not faded they were printed on highest quality on the printer. I prefer this method. I have not tried the homemade recipe for bubble jet but plan on doing that the next time. Also the pictures are soft so you can quilt over them. Some where as large as

8 1/2 X11 so you had to stich over them. It was fun and turned out great. What ever method you use buy plenty of ink cartridges. O now always make my own picture lablels because everything is always on hand.

Melora

[wnott]

I have used Bubble Jet & printer ready sheets. If you want to use lots of pics the bubble jet may be the way to go.

A few tips....

You will have to troubleshoot your printer & possibly sacrifice at least 1 sheet to get it right. I have to apply my sheets to cardstock to keep them from jamming. I do this with one piece of scotch tape across the top edge so the printer grabs it without issues.

consider setting your printer for 'sepia' or 'black & white', to make the colors uniform.

have fun!

[doodlebug]

nother thing to keep in mind.....

if you don't want to quilt through the photos, you'll need to make them no bigger than 4" x 6".

when i piece with pictures, i use printed treasures. i've quilted many photo quilts for customers and always ask what they used, and i get different responses everytime. just read the directions and follow the manufacruer's recommendations for after care and you should be good to go....

but i do know there is a difference in the printer cartridges with sunlight fading..let me go look that up....

*final jeopardy theme*

okay- dye based ink will fade in sunlight quicker than pigment based ink. dye based inks produce a wider color spetrum, are less expensive, and clog less, but they are watersoluable.....so in a quilt that will be washed, that is a big deal! but the chemical coating on pretreated fabrics will address the water soluable factor.

pigment based ink is more expensive and harder to find, but the lightfastness may be well worth the extra fussing...

(from the book: Altered Photo Artisty by beth wheeler and lori marquette)

http://www.amazon.com/Altered-Photo-Artistry-Everyday-Images/dp/1571204407/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265654614&sr=1-2

[Calicoquilter]

Gail,

I have had great success with the Printed Treasures brand of printer sheets. The colors come out truer than other brands and they don't seem to fade with washing. I know they are pricey but it's one of those things, "you get what you pay for". I alway heat set them by either throwing them in the dryer for a few minutes or using a dry iron (no steam). That seems to set the color/ink from washing out or fading. I have tried many other brands. June Tailor would be my 2nd choice, but I still like Printed Treasures better. I often use them for my labels. I like to be able to type everything and use computer graphics for my labels.

[gailpeters]

Thank you all for the information. My DH has a Model A Ford that we drive. I want to make a quilt with pictures of the various places we have taken the car. I have some pretty neat pictures with the car and great backgrounds. This will be my summer project. Thanks again.