Comparing Ink Jet Fabrics, Part III (Printed Treasures)

 

Today, we’re looking at Printed Treasures Ink Jet Fabric Sheets . 

 

I recently also described the effects of printing on Scrap Soft ink jet fabric and Electric Quilt (EQ) ink jet fabric.

 

According to Printed Treasures their ink jet fabric sheets are colorfast and washable. 

 

Like I said before, I have a run of the mill ink jet printer.  It’s a few years old and in good working condition.  It’s a HP C4480, Printer, Scanner, Copier.

All of the ink jet fabrics I used were “sew-on”.  No stickers or iron-on ink jet fabrics.

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3rd TEST Fabric:  Printed Treasures

 

Unlike some of the other companies, Printed Treasures does recommend setting your print parameters to “best”.  I’ve heard from other companies that this can put too much ink on your fabric (sigh).  There doesn’t seem to be a lot of agreement from company to company.

They also suggest letting your fabric dry for one minute before submerging it in an oversized bowl overflowing with a constant stream of cold water.  They say this will carry off any excess ink.  (*Note: this method gave me the worst results using this fabric.)

In terms of washing, Printed Treasures says their ink jet sheets may be washed either by hand or by machine in cold water using the gentle cycle and a mild detergent.

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Here’s what I found:

 

Fabric Quality: 

A thick fabric.  Not as soft as some of the other ink jet fabrics.  Also, this fabric is not a pure white, I think I would say it was off-white or creme.

 

**NOTE:  Each of the following tests used a newly printed logo. 

 

Test 1:  Quality of the original print using my HP printer.

                RESULTS:  The results after the initial printing were good.  The image was

                sharp and the colors nice. 

 

Test 2:  Submerging logo in a pan of Fabric Softener and water.  (4 tablespoons per cup of tap water)

                RESULTS:  Logo looked good, no major loss of color.  This method seems to

                work well with all of the ink jet fabrics.

 

Test 3:  Ran the printed logo under running cold water. 

                RESULTS:  Okay results…the red faded quite a bit.  The browns as well but   

                not as much as the reds.  Not too happy with this look!

 

Test 4:  Sprayed with Scotchgard and then placed under cold running water in sink.

                RESULTS:  The results of spraying with Scotchgard were that when I finally

                got the image wet, the reds were a slight bit more resistant to fading.

 

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Since most quilts will be washed, I tested the logos in the washing machine.  Once again, I cut the logo in half.  One side was washed with detergent.  The other half was washed with fabric softener.

 

Here’s what I found:

 

Test 5: The ink jet fabric was washed using laundry detergent (ALL Free and Clear).

               RESULTS:  (bottom left) Actually, the reds resisted fading BETTER than 

               running the fabric directly under water in the sink!  Overall, not too bad.

 

Test 6:  The ink jet fabric was washed using fabric softener (Downy Free).

               RESULTS:  (top right) Exactly the same results as the laundry detergent. 

 

 

BEST:  Scotchgard OR rinse (by hand) in a fabric softener/water mixture.

 

WORST: Running directly under plain tap water! 

 

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What did I determine about Printed Treasures Ink Jet Sheets?

-(using my HP printer)

 

     1.  Printing:  Colors and intensity are good with initial printing.

 

     2.   Running this fabric under cold water (as recommended) left me with the worst  

           results.

 

     3.   The recommended fabric softener/water mixture seems to be an excellent way to

           rinse off the excess pigments while retaining the original colors and sharpness.

 

    

My thoughts about using Printed Treasures….

 

-This fabric and it’s ability to retain color after washing was somewhere in the middle of the road.  I liked it better than Soft Scrap but not as much as EQ.

 

-I think I would always use some form of washing to get rid of any extra pigment sitting on top of the fabric, even if it was just the fabric softener/water combo.

 

-I liked the “hand” of the fabric.  It feels thick and gives an impression of a high quality fabric.  I did notice it significantly relaxed after washing in the washing machine and I liked the feel of the fabric better after washing.

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I hope this information was helpful overall.  Thanks for stopping by!!

 

Heather 

 

You know you’re a dog person if…the trash basket is more or less permanently installed in the kitchen sink to keep the dog out of it while you’re at work.

Comparing Ink Jet Fabrics- Part II (EQ)

 

Today, we’re looking at Electric Quit (EQ) Ink Jet Fabric Sheets .  This was my favorite ink jet fabrics out of the three I looked at!!

 

Yesterday, I described Scrap Soft ink jet fabrics.

 

According to Electric Quilt, their ink jet fabric holds the printed image better than other brands.  After all of my tests, I have to agree!

 

Like I said before, I have a run of the mill ink jet printer.  It’s a few years old and in good working condition.  It’s a HP C4480, Printer, Scanner, Copier.

All of the ink jet fabrics I used were “sew-on”.  No stickers or iron-on ink jet fabrics.

________________________________________________________________________

 

2nd TEST Fabric:  Electric Quilt (EQ)

 

I used the “Cotton Lawn” fabric sheets.  According to EQ, these sheets are 100% cotton and have a high thread count which results in a silky, smooth texture.  (I did like the feel of the fabric, although it is thinner than the other fabrics).

 

According to the instructions EQ is washable and dry cleanable.  They say in their instructions:

“The colorfastness of your fabric printout will depend on many factors including the number of washings, chemicals in your water, the total exposure to light and the type of printer ink used.”

 

ALL of the ink jet fabric companies recommend printing using “normal” computer settings.  Apparently, the “best” or “photo” settings can put out too much ink.

 

In terms of washing, EQ recommends soaking the fabric in room temperature water for 10 minutes after drying and swishing the fabric around if bleeding is noticed. 

They recommend using DISTILLED water versus tap water citing that tap water may have additives that affect the printer ink. 

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Here’s what I found:

 

Fabric Quality: 

EQ was definitely the thinnest of all the fabrics and slightly translucent.  I can read the instruction sheet sitting underneath the fabric as I’m writing this.  Nonetheless, it is a soft and silky fabric just as described by EQ!

Also, this fabric is not a pure white, I think I would say it was off-white or creme.

 

**NOTE:  Each of the following tests used a newly printed logo. 

 

Test 1:  Quality of the original print using my HP printer.

                RESULTS:  Bright, strong vivid colors!  The image details were sharp!  I

                REALLY liked the way this fabric sheet printed!

 

Test 2:  Submerging logo in a pan of Fabric Softener and water.  (4 tablespoons per cup of tap water)

                RESULTS:  Logo looked good, no major loss of color.  This method seems to

                work well with all of the ink jet fabrics.

 

Test 3:  Ran the printed logo under running cold water. 

                RESULTS:  Too good to be true!!!  The ink still looks PERFECT!!

 

Test 4:  Sprayed with Scotchgard and then placed under cold running water in sink.

                RESULTS:  After Scotchgarding, everything looked perfect!  Once the

                scotchgard had dried, I ran the image under cold, running water.  Again,

                PERFECT!

 

 

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Since most quilts will be washed, I tested the logos in the washing machine.  Once again, I cut the logo in half.  One side was washed with detergent.  The other half was washed with fabric softener.

 

Here’s what I did:

 

I gotta say, both sides look pretty good!

 

Test 5: The ink jet fabric was washed using laundry detergent (ALL Free and Clear).

               RESULTS:  (bottom left) slight fading of browns and reds.  Black also

               somewhat dulled, not quite as shiny and bright as before.

 

Test 6:  The ink jet fabric was washed using fabric softener (Downy Free).

               RESULTS:  (top right) Exactly the same as the laundry detergent. 

BEST:  Scotchgard OR rinse (by hand) in a fabric softener/water mixture.

 

WORST: Washing machine but not by much! 

 

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What did I determine about Electric Quilt (EQ)?

-(using my HP printer)

 

     1.  Printing:  All of the colors print with excellent intensity and sharpness.

 

     2.   Running this fabric under cold water does NOT result in a loss to any of the

           colors!

 

     3.   The recommended fabric softener/water mixture seems to be an excellent way to

           rinse off the excess pigments while retaining the original colors and sharpness.

 

    

My thoughts about using Electric Quilt….

 

-This really was the best of the three ink jet fabric sheets in terms of color intensity and retaining color after washing.

 

-I think I would always use some form of washing to get rid of any extra pigment sitting on top of the fabric, even if it was just the fabric softener/water combo.

 

-The browns and reds were retained the BEST with EQ.

 

-I wish the fabric also came in a pure white clor.

 

-The EQ ink jet sheets printed the clearest and retained their color better than Soft Scrap or Printed Treasures!

 

 

Next….(and last) Printed Treasures ink jet fabric sheets, Part III.

 

Heather 

 

You know you’re a dog person if…you have a kiddie wading pool in the yard but no small children!

Comparing Ink Jet Fabrics, Part I (Soft Scrap)

 

 

So today, we’re looking at Soft Scrap ink jet fabric.

 

This is a relatively new fabric to me.  I saw it for the first time a few months ago at the Cincinnati Quilt Show.

 

They had a great booth and I love their scrapbooking/quilting designs!  Really cute!

 

The thing I liked about Soft Scrap fabric is that it is a solid white fabric and all of the other ink jet fabrics I’ve seen are an off-white or ecru.  Also, it has a really nice feel; the fabric is of a high quality without being too thick and hard to use.

 

I have a run of the mill ink jet printer.  It’s a few years old and in good working condition.  It’s a HP C4480, Printer, Scanner, Copier.

All of the ink jet fabrics I used were “sew-on”.  No stickers or iron-on ink jet fabrics.

________________________________________________________________________

 

1st TEST Fabric:  SOFT SCRAP

 

I think you can see above on their packaging that the fabric sheet is “100% washable”.

 

According to the instructions washing Soft Scrap fabric sheets is optional.

They say in their instructions:

“If you are making wall hangings or items that will never be washed, you do not need to rinse the fabric!  3M Scotchgard works well.”

 

They have an entire sheet dedicated to how to rinse the fabric sheets (I guess in case you’re not making a wall hanging).  This was where I originally got the idea about using fabric softener.

 

According to SoftScrap, the reason to use the fabric softener rinse is:

     -remove the excess dye

     -remove the chemical

     -pre-shrink your fabric

     -restore the hand to the silks

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Here’s what I found:

 

Fabric Quality:  A pure white fabric (finally)!!  Also, a really nice quality for sewing.  The closest to what I would consider a normal 100% cotton that I have found so far! 

 

**NOTE:  Each of the following tests used a newly printed logo. 

 

Test 1:  Quality of the original print using my HP printer.

                RESULTS:  Great Quality!  All of the colors were true and the image was

                sharp!  In this case, the reds and browns look GREAT!

 

 

Test 2:  Submerging logo in a pan of Fabric Softener and water.  (4 tablespoons per cup of water as recommended by Soft Scrap)

                RESULTS:  The logo looked good, no major loss of    

                color.  Good to go!  I still like this method for getting rid of excess inks and it

                is THE recommended method by Soft Scrap.

 

Test 3:  Ran the printed logo under running cold water. 

                RESULTS:  ohhhhhh…..darn.  LOTS of colors were lost.  The browns and reds

                are almost gone!!!!  Yikes!  Blacks and greens still look good though!

 

Test 4:  Sprayed with Scotchgard and then placed under cold running water in sink.

                RESULTS:  After Scotchgarding, there was no change to the colors!  Yeah!

                This is consistent with the companies’ recommendations for items that will not

                be washed.

 

                But…after the Scotchgard dried, I tried running the print under cold water to

                see if the Scotchgard offered any protection.  The color intensity was

                retained but some of the colors ran!

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Since most quilts will be washed, I tested the logos in the washing machine.  Once again, I cut the logo in half.  One side was washed with detergent.  The other half was washed with fabric softener.

 

Here’s an example of what I did:

 

OH BOY!  Both sides are VERY faded!!!

 

Test 5: The ink jet fabric was washed using laundry detergent (ALL Free and Clear).

               RESULTS:   Yikes!  MAJOR fading (the bottom left of the picture)!!

 

Test 6:  The ink jet fabric was washed using fabric softener (Downy Free).

               RESULTS:  Slightly less fading that the detergent but a lot of color was still

               lost.

 

DISCLOSURE!!!!!

**NOTE:  Soft Scrap directions say to wash in a low pH soap ONLY, i.e. Ivory.  I did not do this (I used ALL Free and Clear, this is just want I use in my own laundry and what I had on hand) so I can’t say if the results would have been better had the print been washed in a different low pH detergent.

When it comes to fabric softeners that say to use “a liquid fabric softener” and also mention that they have have good results with either Snuggle or All Brand Softeners.  I used Downy Free (again, what I had on hand).

 

 

BEST:  Scotchgard OR rinse (by hand) in a fabric softener/water mixture.

 

WORST: Using a non recommended laundry detergent in the washing machine. 

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One last thing about Soft Scrap. 

I decided to make a pillow using my new logo.  I did the fabric softener rinse and got great results.  After making the pillow I decided to give it a little extra protection by Scotchgarding it.

 

I don’t know if it was something having to do with using the fabric softener first but after spraying with the Scotchgard, the colors RAN, this time it was the GREENS too!  Ugh…how disappointing!!

See below:

 

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What did I determine about Soft Scrap?

-(using my HP printer)

 

     1.  Printing:  All of the colors print with excellent intensity and sharpness.

 

     2.   Running this fabric directly under cold water results in a loss to the

           reds and browns.

 

     3.   The recommended fabric softener/water mixture seems to be an excellent way to

           rinse off the excess pigments while retaining the original colors and sharpness.

 

     4.   Non recommended detergents results in very poor results in the washing

           machine.

 

My thoughts about using Soft Scrap….

-The black pigment was consistently strong throughout all of the tests so if you’re making a quilt label and printing only in black ink, you shouldn’t notice a lot of pigment loss no matter what method of washing you use.  I think I would use some form of washing to get rid of any extra pigment sitting on top of the fabric, i.e. fabric softener/water combo.

 

-The browns and reds are definitely hard to keep from fading.  I didn’t have this problem with yellows, greens or blues until I used Fabric Softener and then Scotchgarded the pillow!

 

-I really liked the bright, white color of the fabric and the nice quality.

 

-Although, the company claims the fabric is 100% washable, you must make sure you purchase compatible laundry detergent!!

 

 

Next….Electric Quilt (EQ) ink jet fabric sheets, Part II.

 

Heather 

A Wreath from Hands!

Has anyone ever made a Holiday Wreath out of a child's hands?

This was a lot of fun!

I traced my nephew's hands onto fusible web backed fabric (8 times) and ironed them into a circle.  Then I added some red berries and a bow.  Instant quilt wreath!  

:)

I honestly can't remember where I got the idea.  I do know I didn't work off of a pattern. 

Instead of a traditional zig zag or a blanket stitch I used a crazy free motion stitch to fill in the wreath around the hands.

It was all sort of improvised but I was happy with the results!!!

Happy Quilting!

Oh, you probably can't tell but I'm posting this at 12:30 am.  I shouldn't have had that soda with dinner.  Whoops!  Too much caffeine late in the evening!!  :)

Heather

“Upcycling” our Denim Jeans!

 

It’s no secret, I love recycling denim jeans, mostly into quilts or pillows.

 

I have received some recent requests for my denim circles rag quilt Pattern.  This has really been dragging as you can see from old quilt posts!

However, it has moved to the TOP of my list now that I am working full time and exclusively on my quilting business.

I am almost done with a pillow tutorial using the same techniques used to make this quilt.  That will post first.

Thank you to everyone who has shown interest in this quilt.  It is such a great compliment and I want to get the pattern out there for you to use!

 

In the meantime…I have been quickly running out of my garage sale jeans that I use for my projects so I posted an ad on Craig’s List.  I offered to pay $3-$4 a pair. 

 

Let’s just say I was surprised at how many jeans ONE person could have in their closet.  I deleted the Craig’s List ad tonight.  I’m at capacity for now!!

 

Here are some pretty cool things I have seen online made from recycled denim jeans…

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I love the variety of jeans used in this project!  (From Susan Willis for Ecouterre Recycled Denim Jeans Contest)

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Slippers, OMG!  Very creative though and the directions are found here…Recycled Denim Slippers

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Okay, I REALLY like this purse.  It’s from MissyMaoMao's Blog!

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Awesome Log Cabin quilt from Kathy Wagner (directions are found at this link)

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Thank you for visiting!

  Heather

New Spray Starch?

 

Has anyone seen this new spray starch?  I saw it at Scholari’s yesterday.

 

I was out of Best Press and decided to run down to the grocery store to pick up some aerosol spray starch. 

 

I put it back when I noticed this bottle.  It’s called “Niagara” and is a pump spray which promises not to flake (like Best Press).

 

It was only a couple of dollars…I decided to try it.

 

So far so good, although the smell is pretty strong.  It’s supposed to be “Fresh Linen”.

 

 

Guess I’ll try it and see how it compares to Best Press!

Learning to Sew, Making a Quilt!

 

My niece and nephew frequently ask to sew with me.  At their current ages of five and nine, only the nine year old has done a little sewing with me in the past (making a pillow case).

 

I was recently inspired by an article about a women who taught her grandchildren how to sew by teaching them how to quilt.  I decided this would be fun and I invited my niece and nephew over to make their very first quilt! 

 

I’m not sure what possessed me to invite them over at the SAME date and time but we did okay.  We just alternated at the sewing machine!

 

They started by picking seven fabrics from my stash.  Lord knows, this did not even make a dent!

We cut their fabric into squares and they laid the squares out onto the floor. From there we moved to the sewing machine.  We learned about terminology such as: presser foot, needle up/down and most importantly, Seam Allowances!

 

Here is my beautiful niece, Aspen, at the Pfaff Grandquilter. 

 

My nephew, Tristin…

 

 

Learning to press…

 

 

About this time…they decided they had had enough sewing for the day.  I was pretty impressed by their dedication.  Attention spans did not waver for a good two hours!

 

Tristin returned about a week later to finish his top.  Aspen has not yet put her rows together.  She told me yesterday that she would like me to finish the top.  Hmmm…maybe quilting isn’t for her!

 

Here is Tristin’s finished top.  He did a spectacular job!

 

Isn’t it interesting that he did not place the squares randomly throughout the quilt?  He wanted the same patterns to go back into the same rows.  I wonder what this says about his personality??

 

 

Now, onto the quilter with this top!  (Grandma!)