Batik Tea Towel - Candy Apple / Chevalet by 5 o'clock crows

My wife and I are starting to decorate our new house as we unpack and move things around.  One of the things don’t have are throw pillows.  Designing and printing your own pillows would save you money and allow you flexibility in your decorating.    I ran across this great article over on Craftzine that shows you how to print your own designs on fabric using an inkjet printer.  The amazing fabric in the above picture is hand dyed.  Check out 5 o’clock crows on Handmade Spark for more hand dyed patterns!

By Andrew Lewis

Sometimes I have a great idea for a textile project, but I get put off by the thought of trawling through the seemingly endless bolts of fabric at the store. Then I think about the hassle of haggling over the price and ending up with three times as much fabric as I actually needed.

I decided to try printing my own fabric on an inkjet printer, and the results really exceeded my expectations. The advantages to this technique are tremendous, and I don’t have to haggle over prices any more.

I get my own designs, in the quantity I need, at a fraction of the price I would normally pay. The only drawback is that people keep asking me to print something special for them, too!

About Ink

Printing your own fabric is not as difficult as it sounds, and you don’t need any special equipment to get started. The only secret to a successful print is to make sure that you have the right type of ink. Cheap printer cartridges and refills often use a dye based ink that colors unpredictably on fabric, and may even wash out completely in water.

More expensive printer cartridges use pigment ink. Pigment ink is color-fast on a many of different surfaces, and is much more useful for printing on fabric.

Unfortunately, finding out if you have pigment ink or dye is not always straightforward. Your printer manual is a good place to start, and a physical examination of the ink should settle the matter beyond doubt. When the printer cartridges need changing, remove the yellow ink and place some on a piece of glass. Yellow pigment ink will be vibrant but opaque, while yellow dye will be transparent and almost brown in color.

Read more HERE.  Be sure to check out the rest of Andrew’s article, as he walks you through the printing process.