F
ollow the manufacturer’s instructions to print graphics on inkjet fabric. Bond them using HeatNBond Lite
Adhesive,then sew them after bonding.
Now that the T-shirt top is free motion quilted, it’s time to embellish the quilted wall art with computer graphics. This can be
as simple as adding a date, a quote, or even a photograph.
For my project, the T-shirt refers to a set of characters in Doctor
Who called the weeping angels. They are truly frightening, but
they also have a lot of fan art and quotes associated with them.
So, I went on an Internet hunt and found a quote from the show
when the angels first appeared, as well as a bit of copyright-free
line art.
Copyright-free images can be found on several websites, but
my favorite is The Graphics Fairy. There are hundreds of images
there, and there’s a searchable database.
Iron on the images to the design. This little GO-IRON is the right
size for these types of jobs because you can see around it. It
heats up in a big way and creates a solid bond.
I created a file in my computer’s graphics program and played
around with shapes, lines, effects and filters until I got what I
wanted from these images. Then, I set my printer to “Best Quality” and did a practice print on regular paper. Once I was happy
with that, I loaded the printer with a sheet of Inkjet Fabric. This
paper-backed fabric has been treated to accept inkjet printing,
and is colorfast. It’s fairly expensive, so if I have some extra room
on the page, I add random graphics I might need for future
projects, rather than waste space on the fabric sheet.
Pick DMC embroidery floss colors to enhance the graphic elements added to
the quilt.
To embellish around the graphic elements, I embroidered a line of running
stitches all around the element in one color…
The printed fabric should be left alone for a few minutes to dry.
Then use decorative edge scissors to cut out the design. Do this
while the paper is still backing the fabric, since it’s almost impossible to do once you remove the paper.
Remove the paper and apply Heat N Bond Iron-On Adhesive
to the wrong side of the design, following the manufacturer’s
directions. I used the FEATHER LITE version, which can also be
stitched through without gumming up the needle or adding
extra stiffness. (I used Rasor’s Edge Utility Scissors scissors to cut
the adhesive to fit the graphics. I didn’t want to cut paper with
my good fabric shears). Once the graphics are ironed on, you
can machine stitch them in place and/or use embroidery floss
to add the embellishments I elected to do both.
Aren’t you glad that
embellishing the
quilted wall art with
computer graphics
isn’t as hard as you
might have thought?
Then weave a second color in and out of the running stitches.
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