Things have been crazy recently with residency applications, audition rotations and more. I've been working on a few larger time-consuming projects but here's a quick one. I have been seeing a ton of pins on Pinterest about transferring text and images to wood and fabric.
I ended up using the font Edwardian Script ITC.
The first step is print your image on regular copy paper to ensure that your image doesn't extend beyond your printer's printable area (thereby cutting off part of your image). Next cut a piece of freezer paper to the size of your printer paper. Using a spray adhesive (I like Scotch 77) attach the two together so that the waxy side is facing out.
I read about several different ways to transfer images and decided to try them all out before committing on the actual pillow fabric.
Here is the standard transfer, just placing the wax side firmly on the fabric and applying pressure to help transfer. Speed is key! As soon as the fused paper comes through the printer, get it on the fabric! This method is fine but the image is a bit muted.
Next I tried the method where you slightly dampen the fabric with water before transferring. As you can see, though the image is darker, it also bled considerably.
The last method, and my favorite, involved spraying the fabric with a light coat of hairspray prior to transferring. As you can see it results in a slightly darker image without any bleeding.
Here are all three together for comparison.
After practicing a few times I was ready for the real deal. I had purchased an upholstery weight fabric and laid it out. I made sure to center my image height and width wise on the fabric and used my fingernails to rub the image (this really helped). I sewed the pillow cover together with a flap in the back to get the pillow in rather than messing with a zipper.
Please note that the transfer is not permanent! This is good and bad. On the one hand you have to go over it with Sharpie or paint to make it permanent but it also gives you the flexibility to wash and reuse, transferring a different image.
Here's the finished product!
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