I will leave it to others to post photos of their results from our image transfer get-together. I will just outline the techniques we tried.
1. Rice Paper Transfer
Rice paper is available in the calligraphy section of art supply stores. Not expensive. Very absorbent, so it can be printed with inkjet ink, but not bleed when applied with acrylic medium.
Cut the rice paper just a little smaller than your printer paper, and attach it top and bottom with adhesive tape. Print. Dry. Cut to size. Adhere face up to cloth, using matte, fabric or gel medium. I like matte best, because my fabric medium is glossy, and the gel medium leaves brush marks. Takes stitch well. Colour or black-and-white.
2. CitraSolv
An environmentally-friendly cleaning product, available through www.citra-solv.com. Website has an Artist's Page for creative ideas and lists local suppliers. Using a toner-based photocopy, place image face-down on cloth. Moisten a cotton pad lightly with CitraSolv and rub back of image until image transfers to cloth. The trick is not to spend a lot of money on photocopies that don't work, for whatever reason, so bring your CitraSolv and a cotton pad with you to the copy shop. Works with some magazine images, but not others. This transfers a mirror-image of your photocopy, so do a "flip horizontal" in your computer software or at the copy shop.
3. Clear Contact Paper
You may know this as "sticky-back paper", available inexpensively at the dollar store. I prefer matte to glossy. Cheaper is better, because the glue is stronger, not "repositionable". Place toner-based photocopy face-down on sticky side of contact paper. Discard waxy liner. Burnish with a hard-edged credit card or butter knife to transfer ink to glue. Cut away excess as desired. Immerse in water to soak paper. Rub off paper using pads of fingers. Some paper may be left on for effect. It may be painted with acrylic paint. At this point, you may wish to add oil pastel to sticky side of image for colour. Apply face-up to cloth using matte medium. Use credit card to squeegee out from centre to edge, to remove excess medium and air bubbles. Glossiness may be reduced with a coat of clear gesso. Colour or black-and-white. Accepts stitch well.
Our efforts met with mixed success, because that's what experimenting is all about. But we had a good time in any case!
The group blog of eight quiltmakers and textile artists scattered around the world in 4 countries and across three continents. Our aim is to create a small quilt every three months. The theme is chosen by the members in turn. Our website is: www.12bythedozen.weebly.com
Thanks for that, Heather. When you say 'a toner based copy' do you mean a laser printed copy - not an ink-jet printed one?
ReplyDeleteDo you have a preference? I see that two (#1 and #3) give you images that you have to attach to the fabric and one (the 'CitraSolv') actually transfers to the fabric.
I MUST find time to experiment!
Hilary
I tried to use a laser image from our very old printer but it really didn't work. It transferred to the fabric, but was very black and fuzzy. The local print shop copy was superb. He didn't really know what I meant when I said toner ink, but then said something about it being wax based.... so I hope that helps. You can take your bottle to the shop and try it right away, it's so easy. Works with the funnies in the newspaper too!
ReplyDeleteThe Citrasolv gives a less precise image, a little more "atmospheric", or "deconstructed", and sometimes that's just what you want. The contact paper leaves a little bit of an edge, where the acrylic meets the cloth, and some may find that objectionable. The rice paper may not be durable enough for some. I guess there are trade-offs with every approach. I also like TAP a lot.
ReplyDeleteWhen I use photos of family in some form of tribute piece, I hesitate to make it too "arty", as though I want to preserve the resemblance, but I really prefer more ambiguity in the image.
Does anyone else have reflections on this?
Depending on your final purpose it's important to know that the Citrasolv is supposed to be washable (haven't yet tried it) and the other methods aren't.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Heather. I like the slight softness.
ReplyDeleteI have used T-shirt transfer paper from the stationers very effectively on woven fabric - very similar to TAP - also heat transfer papers (both mirror and non mirror) which work with inkjet printers. The down side is they change the hand of the fabric and leave a rather plasticky surface.
Creating a little piece about the funnies from a newspaper would be great, Dianne! Your advice to take a bottle and test the copies is the best advice - it would only be for the first time if it worked... I'll remember about 'wax based' - might be useful.
Sandra Meech's quilts are made up of photographic images and are quite plasticky but it doesn't seem to matter at all. I suppose it is all about how you handle the images and the final outcome.
Hilary
On the Citrasolve question - taking the Citrasolve to the store and checking your copies seems a very good idea. I went to the local branch of Bureau En Gros (Staples in England) and got b&w photocopies - and not one of them worked! I rather liked the idea of transferring the image onto sticky back plastic. I'll post the result of my attempt at that soon.
ReplyDelete