I have a great project for you today! I am showing you how to print photos onto fabric. There are so many different things you can do with your fabric photos and I am so excited to share this trick with you!
Learning how to print photos onto fabric will open up a whole new world of crafting options for you. There are so many fun things that you can do with them! And all you need is some Stick It sheets and a printer with a copier function. You can print absolutely anything you can think of onto fabric. And you can attach your printed fabric to just about anything. So get ready to get creative!
How to Print Photos onto Fabric
The fabric that I use for my patches is muslin. If you know me, you know I love to use muslin! It has a vintage feel and can be used in so many ways. You can use any fabric that is thin enough to go through your printer though. I have even seen images printed on burlap.
I have never tried it though and it may have been done using a different method since it’s a thicker fabric. But it looks really cool! Other than that though, no matter what fabric you choose, the method will be the same. You just want a fabric that will allow the images to show up.
What Photos to Use
You can literally print any image you want which makes the possibilities endless! I have used vintage papers and book pages that I have. You can also search for vintage clip art and find lots of awesome vintage images to use. Family photos make really special patches too. You can see that I made a couple of my precious pup too!
You could print images you find on line right from the internet if you want. What I did, though, was print out the pages on paper first and then used my copier function to print them onto the fabric. I like doing it that way so that I can make more whenever I want without having to search for the images again. I just store my pages with my other patch supplies so I can use them again and again!
Tips and Tricks
I like to make my patches in batches. That way if I find something that I want to add them too I already have them ready to go. These patches aren’t hard to make but I like to be able to just grab them and use them when the inspiration hits instead of having to stop and make them.
After you have applied your Stick It sheet to your fabric you will need to trim your fabric down to the size of your sheet. (Don’t worry, I explain how to do that in the instructions below!) You want to get as close to the sheet as possible but also want to make sure that there is no stickiness from the sheet that is exposed. You don’t want to gum up your printer with the stick.
Also make sure that there aren’t any stray threads on your fabric. I haven’t really had a problem with this using the muslin but you wouldn’t want any loose strings that could get caught in the printer.
Crafts to Try with your Fabric Photos
Ok, here is where it gets really fun! You’ve made your patches now what do you want to do with them? I have tried a few things so far. I’ve added them to fabric bags and purses and love the way those turned out! I have also used them to dress up a baseball cap.
You can add them to pillows, shirts, jackets, or even fabric pumpkins. I found some really cute vintage fall pumpkins by searching “vintage fall clipart” on Pinterest that would be super cute on a fabric pumpkin. One of my favorite projects I have used them on was handmade books that we made in my membership group, Tami’s Making.
The books are handmade clear down to ripping the special watercolor paper and sewing the binding and I taught our members how to make them. When you join the group you have access to all past tutorials so you could learn how to make them too! I also go Live with 3 exclusive new tutorials every month. I’d love for you to try it out for a month, we have so much fun!
How to Print Photos onto Fabric Supply List
- Stick It pages
- Fabric of your choice, I used Muslin
- Scissors
- Printer with a copier function
- Spray adhesive (may or may not need this, I like Super 77)
Step by Step Instructions
- Start by ironing the fabric you will be using. Then take a piece of the Stick It and remove the backing. Then adhere it to your fabric making sure that it is nice and smooth. If your backing is in sections instead of all one piece, I recommend only removing one section at a time. It is easier to get one section at a time smooth.
- Next use the scissors to cut out the sheet from the larger piece of fabric. Get as close to the sheet as you can but make sure you don’t have any of the stickiness exposed because you don’t want it to gum up your printer.
- Put the picture(s) that you are going to print on your fabric facedown in the copier part of your printer. Take all the paper out of your tray. Place your fabric into your paper tray. On my printer I need to put the fabric side down in order for the picture to print on it. If you aren’t sure which way you need to have yours facing, just do a test run on a piece of paper first. Once your fabric page is loaded make a color copy of your pictures. The image will print right onto your fabric!
- To attach your fabric photos to things just take off the Stick It backing. It should be sticky enough to adhere where you want it but if not you can use spray adhesive. I like Super 77 for my projects. You can also sew your photos on of course, I just don’t like to sew. I have done some some rough stitching on one of the patches I added to my hat. But that was just for aesthetics, I still used the Super 77 for the actual adhesion.
The Wrap Up!
And that’s how to print photos onto fabric, friends! It’s really easy to do and there are so many projects you can do with them. I have so much fun deciding which images to use and what to use them on. I hope you love this project as much as I do!
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