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Photo Memory Quilts
by Kim Noblin
Memory quilts are a wonderful way to express pride in your family
history, commemorate a special occasion, or honor a special person. The
process of transferring photos to fabric is much easier and more
reliable today than ever before.
First, you will need a scanner or digital camera to transfer your photos
into your computer. After scanning or uploading your photos, you can
open up the image files in a photo editing program to resize, make
corrections to color, balance, and contrast, and add special effects. I
recommend increasing the color saturation of images to make the colors
much more vivid when printed onto fabric. I use and highly recommend
Paint Shop Pro for this purpose. If you'd like to try it out, you can
download a fully functional trial version from the Jasc.com website.
Choose a printer that is optimized for printing photographs. Don't go
out and buy a new printer until you've tried your own! You may be
surprised at the quality of printed images from your own printer.
If you are in the market for a new printer and you would like one that
works great for photo transfer to fabric, I recommend the Hewlett
Packard DeskJet 1220cse Printer.
After you have edited and resized your photos, you are ready to print. I
suggest printing at least one photo out on regular inkjet paper (or
photo paper) to make sure that the image is the correct size and the
colors are correct. If you are satisfied, you can load up the printer
with fabric sheets.
You have two choices as far as fabric sheets go. You can purchase inkjet
printer fabric sheets ready to print, or you can make your own. The
second option is a more cost effective method, but it will require some
time and energy to prepare the fabric sheets for the printing process.
If you plan to make your own printable fabric, you will need the
following: Bubble Jet Set 2000, Bubble Jet Set Rinse, white or ivory
fabric (muslin or pimatex), plastic flat pan, freezer paper cut into
8-1/2" x 11" sheets, iron, ironing board, rubber gloves, rotary cutter,
ruler, and cutting mat. Bubble Jet Set 2000 and Bubble Jet Set Rinse are
available from several online sources.
Should you make your own printable fabric? If you are making one small
project and not really planning to do anymore, I'd recommend using the
ready made inkjet printer fabric sheets. If you are planning a large
project, or if you think this is something that you'll be doing a lot
of, you should definitely try making your own printable fabric. The
ready-made sheets retail for about $12 for a package of three sheets.
You can make your own for about 75 cents per sheet.
If you are ready to explore the possibilities of printing on fabric,
then it is time to pay a visit the site of Caryl Bryer Fallert
http://www.bryerpatch.com. She is an award winning quilt artist who
makes beautiful fabric with her computer. On her website, you can see
her stunning quilt, "Stars of Africa". All of the fabric for this quilt
was made using photos that she took during a teaching tour of South
Africa. She also offers a very informative and detailed Q & A page about
Bubble Jet Set 2000.
There is no doubt that quilting is a creative activity. Transferring
photos to fabric takes that creativity to a new and exciting level. The
possibilities of this technique are limited only by the scope of our
imaginations!
About the author
Kim Noblin is the owner/editor of BlockCentral.com. Visit her site to
find quilting ideas and inspirations, along with one of the largest
directories of free quilt patterns on the internet.
http://www.blockcentral.com
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