Wish You Could Make Custom Fabric? 5 Easy Steps For Printing Your Own Designs

Have you ever looked at fabric and wished you could create your own custom fabric pieces? You might be surprised to find out that you can. In fact, if you can create a design on your computer, you can print it onto a piece of light-colored fabric. Here are some easy-to-follow instructions for creating your own custom-designed fabric:

Choose the Right Printer

Before you out to create your own fabric pieces, you'll need to make sure that your printer is compatible with fabric printing. You'll need a printer that can accept thick card-stock paper. You'll also need a printer that uses pigment ink. Pigment ink provides richer colors and will not wash away when you wash the fabric.

Choose the Right Fabric

When choosing your fabric, remember that you'll want a solid color –preferably a light color. You'll also want it to be light weight so that it will feed through the printer properly. Once you have the fabric chosen, you'll need to cut it to the proper size.

Prepare the Fabric for Printing

Place your fabric on a smooth cutting surface and use a piece of computer paper as a template. Carefully cut your pieces of fabric out to match the size of your computer paper. Next, cut a 10" long strip of card stock about 2" wide and use two-sided tape to secure the cardstock to the bottom edge of your fabric. The cardstock will weight down the fabric so that it will feed through the printer properly.

Create Your Design

Now that you have your fabric prepared, you're ready to create your design. This is where you can let your imagination go wild. You can create your own custom design, or you can print family photographs for transfer on to your fabric.

Print Your Fabric

To print your fabric, you're going to begin by carefully feeding your fabric through the printer. Turn your printer on and place the weighted end of your fabric into the paper feed. Be sure that the weighted end is pushed into place.

Grasp the top edge of your fabric and hold it in place as it feeds through the printer. Don't hold too firmly or the graphics could come out slightly distorted. Once the fabric piece comes through the printer, set it aside and allow the ink to dry for about 30 minutes.

Finish the Fabric

Before you can use your newly printed fabric, you'll need to set the ink. You'll need a flat surface and a warm iron for this step. Place your fabric – printed-side down – on a flat surface. Iron your fabric using your warm iron. Your fabric is now ready for use.

You can create your own unique fabric pieces using a printer and some pigment ink. Let your imagination go wild with this simple technique. Need more printing help? Contact a company like Kwik Kopy Business Center to learn more.