photo transfer HELP!!!!

[epprog]

I have previously used June Tailor photo fabric sheets and used my printer to make beautiful photo quilts but I HATE how they launder. A beautiful quilt that I made for my son-in-law and has been laundered twice looks horrible!!! The photos look all crinkled and very very washed out even though I followed the directions very carefully. Has anyone had better success with other brands like Printed Treasures? Or should I just bit the bullet and learn to use the Bubble Jet? I just want to know who has washed their photo transfer quilts. I want a product that keeps the printing looking just like it did when I printed it, is that too much to ask????? I even phoned June Tailor and talked to them before using their product and they assured me that my photos in the quilt could be laundered. Any advise or experiences would help. Thank-you!!!!

Cher

[Calicoquilter]

I have used several brands and I like the Printed Treasures the best. They seem to hold their color better and they have a very soft texture, not stiff or plastic like. You should heat set the photo transfer before you use it or lauder it (I usually just throw it in the dryer for a few minutes by itself). I have had my best success with this brand.

[Sandra Darlington]

Thanks for posting this question. I am thinking about making something with photo's and was wondering the same thing. I would hate to give a gift that was ruined at the first washing!

[Quilting Heidi]

I like the bubble jet set. You treat the fabric, iron the fabric onto freezer paper and run through the printer. It doesn't change the fabric at all and the pictures come out great. Just use a high thread count fabric.

[Gator]

I love the sheets sold by Electric Quilt fabric sheets. The same company that makes EQ6. They have several different thread counts and types (fusable/sticky/etc). They was really well also. I know a lot of the quilters here love the printed treasures. Before I got into quilting I used the June Taylor and the others carried by JoAnns and Hancocks and had the same disaster that you spoke of. My first try, I didn't take the paper backing off the back, lol I've come a long way since then :cool::cool::cool:

[Ruthieq]

I prefer EQ Printables and did a post about them on my blog some time ago:

http://threadsofmine.blogspot.com/2007/12/inkjet-fabric-sheets.html

[Kay Anderson]

Try this web site. I use their stuff all the time and they are the folks that make the Bubble Jet Set.

http://www.cjenkinscompany.com/aboutus.asp

[LinneaMarie]

Kay, I live your new avatar! You are a babe!!!

[Kay Anderson]

That is an old picture, but I always liked it. I did look like that, 15 years ago! LOL

[AnnHenry]

I kept hearing that Printed Treasures were the best and so I bought them, and I hate them. They are like canvas. Then someone told me that there are several different kinds of Printed Treasures, some iron-on and some not. The iron-on kind result in canvas feel. I had no idea that there was more than one kind of Printed treasures - - so do more homework than I did.

The last label I made, I just backed regular fabric with freezer paper and sent it through my computer printer. It looked great even after two washes.

[epprog]

Heidi, have you washed the quilt that you used the Bubble Set fabrics?

Cher

[Quilting Heidi]

Cher,

Yes and I had no problems. I did a bunch of tests with it.

[Melanie Rouse]

I use the Bubble Jet, too. Love it. Feels just like fabric and prints almost as crisp as the original photo. I made a memory quilt for my grandma when she went to the nursing home, so it got washed a lot. Looks just as good as new!

[epprog]

Okay, off to Bubble Jet we go!! Heidi, what fabric do you use as a base? Do you have a brand name, like, would RJR's cotton supreme in white or cream be good? If you need a higher thread count then what would work? How about the new Kona muslin that you can get in all kinds of widths?

Cher

[Quilting Heidi]

Cher,

I don't recall the brand fabric I used but definitely a higher thread count! The higher the thread count the better your immage will be. I treated all the fabric and ironed 8 1/2 x 11 precut freezer paper to it and then cut it out. It ran through the printer with no problems. Make sure you heat set it.

[Quilting Heidi]

Kona is probably way too loose of a weave and a little to thick. I would go with a really nice soft fabric. I'm sure the fabric I got was designed specifically for photo transfer and I bought it off othe bolt. I just don't remember what brand it was.

[RoseCity Quilter]

I'm far to lazy for Bubble Jet Set! I use Printed Treasures and love the high thread count and colorfastness(? is that a word?) of these sheets. I tested the colorfastness by printing the same photo twice and then washing one of these five times. It looked exactily the same as the one not washed. We sell these in our store and the same customers keep coming back for more.

[dgroby]

A couple of years ago one of the top quiltering mags ran an article about the different kinds of prepared fabric, what held up, and which brand was best with various inks, and what their own testing revealed. I don't remember much of it, but do remember that Printed Treasures was the top brand to buy - it held up the best over repeated washings. EQ was second, but there was one item about EQ that prevented it from being first. Both of the these run well in inkjet printers, but the Printed Treasures was supposed to be better in clarity and through washings. (The June Taylor was ranked way at the bottom...that I remember!)

Apparently, this is everything I retained...what to buy and in what order...the most important pieces

[McLaren]

I am so disappointed with my fabric sheets, followed all directions. Does anyone know if my photo blocks can be softened?

they fell stiff and I have washed the throw on delicate & cold water. A lot of time,work and money , I used June tailor sheets and my backing is fleece. Suppose to feel cuddly, it doesn’t!