kathy

The very first time when I ended up with black and white chickens it was plain muslin, no BJS. This time I had the BJS and rinse, that's when I lost VERY little color. If it's something important it's worth the price of the BJS. It leaves the fabric a little stiff like the pre-treated sheets you buy, but lots cheaper.
kathy

dittyham

I was in a quilt shop once and noticed a quilt with the pictures done on it. When touching the picture fabric I noticed it was real soft as the natural washed fabric would be. I was hoping the BJS would leave the material this way. I do not like the feel of the pretreated sheets. They sometimes with wear seem to make the picture kind of looked cracked or something, maybe wrinkly. I can't explain what I am trying to say but you probably know what I am talking about. Maybe it was a different kind of material than muslin I don't know. As you can tell I am a beginner quilter. I love it, and am not doing any work outside of home as of now, but still do not seem to make time for it. I am glad to have found this sight and to be able to ask questions from people whom know what they are doing.

kathy

I know the iron on transfers get cracked but I'm not sure about these with the BJS, mine will be small portions maybe 4-5 inch squares in a block so maybe not too stiff.
kathy

Donna

I used BJS on my Christmas quilts and once they are washed and pressed(Woolite is ok according to the gentleman I spoke with at the Jenkins CO) they no longer have the feel of pretreated fabric. If you look in the *What are you making for Christmas* you can see a picture of my quilt on page 10 or 11.

mimisharon

I'm bringing back an old topic because I'm stymied. With the bubble jet set did you print directly onto the muslin? I'm trying to do a quilt for a dear Blue Star Mom who's son just returned from Iraq and she wants the pictures of his life on it. I don't like the iron on sheets for the blocks, they are to stiff, they crack and peel, I don't lose the color but I want this quilt to make up to Albert his lousy barracks room so I want it to be soft and pliable.

Please help?

Sharon

Cathy M

Should you really be washing chickens? Hmmm... that just seems wrong :):)

patricej

the pre-treated sheets in a pack are at least twice as expensive as treating the fabric yourself.

get yourself some nice 200-ct muslin and a bottle of bubble jetset. you can also print on the bargain muslin from walmart but the results are much better on 200-count. (if you have an HP printer, buy the BJS made especially for HP printers.) just treat the fabric according to the instructions on the bottle. it's super easy and safe. although they're recommended, i don't even wear gloves and have never had the least little problem.

either iron the treated fabric to freezer paper or to repositionable sticker paper. if you use the regular full-sheet lables, your picture will get all stretched out of shape when you peel it off the label. run them suckers through the printer and - yes - print directly onto the fabric.

make sure you give the printed sheets of fabric their first wash before you sew them into the quilt. if you've printed on an HP printer, lay them face down on the wash water, then push them in. don't just wad them up and toss. wash them a second time any old way you want. the color left is permanent. (i have never tested the HP BJS, but the manufacturer is very honest so if they say it will give better results i know it will.)

if you have a canon printer that uses the pixma inks you can rinse your printed sheets in plain water! no matter how you wash/rinse them, you'll barely be able to tell the difference between a fresh print and after rinse.

you don't need to buy bubble jet rinse. woolite or any mild detergent will do nicely.

once washed the first time, they feel "normal".

the fabrics in this "block" were printed using BJS.

fabricluvr

Hi Sharon. Yes, the BJ2000 is the fabric treatment so you can print right on the fabric (after you stabilize it with freezer paper). I would suggest you go with a fabric that has a little more substance to it (a 'high thread count' is recommended, but i've never been able to find that on the bolts of fabric). I use the Quilters' Cotton or the Kona cotton fabrics. When you hold them up to the light, they aren't as see-thru as the muslins (hopefully meaning they are higher thread count?).

i used it on the block that i sent you, if you want to see how it comes out (the one with printing in the middle that says 'i cannot count my day complete . . . ')

blahel

I have just been to a quilt fair here and did a workshop on printing on fabric and they said if your sheets wont go through your printer with the freezer paper on get masking tape on the leading edge by sticking it on half on the paper and half of and then folding over to the other side and sticking it down and then feeding that end through your printer. They also said only handwash your quilts in dishwashing liquid. HOpe this info helps someone.

patricej

Joann's sells 200-ct muslin by the bolt. it works very well for printing.

i machine wash my printed fabrics in tide with no problems.