Tee Shirt Info

Iron On Transfer Questions as posed to the printerhelp ng

Does anyone know how to protect iron on transfers from fading and chiping? I followed directions on the paper package-turned T-shirt inside out, washed in cold water without bleach, but they still got messed up. Is there some kind of stuff to spray on it that will protect the picture? Thanks in advance.  

Dave

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Re: Iron On Transfers

There is also some white glue like paint you can put on the shirt before the transfer. It is used for hand painted items. Don't ask me, ask your craft store. Been far too long since I did this.

tweety

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1-Add a cup of vinegar to your cold wash. 2-Turn iron on inside out when washing. 3-When iron on (t-shirt,etc.) is dry, spray your iron on with KRLON crystal clear acrylic coating. Do bothh sides.You can get a can of KRYLON at any art store.

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I don't know about protecting the image but I do know you mustn't use fabric softner. I believe the white glue like stuff is called "gesso".

  betsyb

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I've been doing transfers for some time now. I tried Avery, Cannon, & Xerox transfer sheets. Then I found EDPS. They are a mail order company that specializes in printing supplies. They have the best transfer sheets available. They also have a product called "opaque transfer sheets" that allow you to put a transfer on any color material, even black. Since finding EDPS, all my transfers are on the opaque transfer sheets, and they seem to last a long time without fading or cracking.

http://www.edps-nj.com/

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I was curious where does that sulky pen that someone posted in an iron-on thread come in? http://www.sulky.com/transferpens/

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 I should make a ' how to' site for transfering with pens, ...at     http://www.sulky.com/transferpens/ they have a pretty easy tutorial for using the pens... I have only used the black, yellow, & white, the black being the best in my opinion. They cost around \$3 & can be found at most craft stores (I've bought at Michael' s & A.C .Moore). I would suggest buying 2 black to start. This way, if you run out, or mash the tip down a bit so you don't have quite as sharp point,   you can still finish up. I didn't care for the colored ones, it was harder to have them come out uniformly, the white was 'globbing' on the material & the design was not clear. 'Stick to Black Pen & Lighter Shades of Fabric', should be my motto for now!-not all that funny after you ruin a couple of tee shirts, even when I did eventually fix them,using a larger transfer to cover. I've seen transfer pencils in the shops,but haven't tried as yet. They cost around $1 & I've only seen them in black. The finished copies can go on whatever you like, on wood they turn out nice( I've done a stepstool, a tray,& a few other things). I do a lot of shirts & tote bags, & a few aprons . After finding your design( my main source is the web,where I just print it out on regular copy paper (\$2.50 at Walmart kind)...I also use children's coloring books- use tracing paper for those,& if it has words on it,trace with regular pencil,then just flip the paper over & trace with the transfer pen=all flipped. I put my iron on 5(out of 7 settings)   with no steam, gently smooth over all areas of picture,for about 30-40 seconds. Use a test paper & cloth first to judge your iron, scortching does happen if it's held on too hot or too long. Don't worry if you' ve gone 'out of the lines' when tracing,the outline washes out . Next the design gets painted. There are a few different fabric paints out there, I prefer 'Tulip', 'Scribbles' & ' Plaid Dimensional'. 'Jones' paint doesn't work as well for cloth ,so I use it for larger wood or other projects that are not cloth. It tends to come out of the bottle unevenly & often too much at a time. There are so many colors & textures of these paints to choose from-slick, glitter, puffy,pearl,shiny... I save all my finished patterns in folders to use again. You should be able to use the design 2-3 times before having to add more transfer ink to it.   There are other products for use on dark backgrounds ( white chalk,for one), that's another whole page... Use any of this that you may want, change whatever to suit your needs...                                   Later,

                Ming

Oh, almost forgot, many designs are copyrighted, (Disney people even check small church bazzars & craft fairs to see if anyone is using what is their's) so check before selling anything you make. Giving as a gift is OK. another thought for 'find,print,trace,iron,paint,& wear'... actually 2-at least the way I do it,no matter if there's an ad on the page,too, only what you trace comes out...if you do paint your design, WAIT TO WASH for 48 hr.! I learned this the hard way- the picture comes off in places! I hope this all (or some) helps you out.

                                               Ming

I've also heard of a product that can be used around the edge of the transfer to seal it to the fabric. It's called "glitter glue". and can be found in most craft stores.

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After you have transferred the image, coat it with Aleene's Ok to Wash It fabric glue. Let it dry thoroughly. Always wash and rinse in warm water and do not put in dryer.

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I also use the opaque transfer sheets that were mentioned earlier. Here's what they are. You make your transfer like you always have. Now, instead of ironing the transfer on to the t-shirt, you iron it on to the white fabric on the opaque transfer sheet. After that, you cut out the transfer, peel off the paper backing on the opaque sheet, position it on the t-shirt, and iron as usual. I find that the fabric on the opaque transfer sheets is very tight, as opposed to the loose fabric on a t-shirt. This is why an iron on transfer holds up better after a few washings using the opaque transfer sheets.

Flipping an image.

There is no one more qualified to explain this than Al Hadoe. He made this page to help answer that question. http://community-2.webtv.net/hadoe/HowtoFlipanimageat/index.html