Havplenty

Looked it up already. Here are a coupla links.

http://sew-in-stitches.blogspot.com/...-solution.html
http://sewloquacious.blogspot.com/20...e-jet-set.html

kuntryquilter

I did a quilt with photos, used the Bubble Jet and when I washed it & it still faded. Why? you ask. Because they had just treated the city water & boy could I smell the chlorine. I was so upset but could do nothing about it.

lclang

Thanks for links. I am going to try this. SO much less expensive than the purchased stuff and I don't care if it smells like lavender or not!

dsch

All the sites listed by Prism99 are the ones at which I searched. The recipes are all pretty much the same. Some say use only Downy fabric softener, others don't specify. All use alum, water, and washing soda. One site-I think maybe the NZ one-even includes a chart for making various amounts and a conversion into standard as opposed to metric measures. Going to see if I can find the ingredients in my small town local establishments & try my hand at this. Will let you know.

silverfoxmag

Thanks for the recipe! I've never done a photo transfer but I will now.

M cubed

I too have 'forgotten' to pretreat my fabric. It came out of the printer ok and I made sure to heat-set it. When the printer prints, one of the steps is a heating process (print 50 copies and see how hot the paper is), but it is not hot enough for long enough to set the ink in fabric. The ink sits on top of the fabric/paper. The pretreatment is important because it is effectively a wetting agent which allows the ink to penetrate into the fibers. The rinse is a setting agent. What all this boils down to is that you need to follow the steps in the instructions to get a good, permanent image.
Sorry for all the extra work.

margecam52

I don't think soaking in retayne will help, but then I've never tried it. I use bubblejetset2000 often...it's really great! I get mine from either Walmart, Joann's or http://www.dharmatrading.com
If you go to dharma trading...they have instructions, and also reasonably priced pre treated fabric sheets.

For a large amount of pictures, BJset2k is the most reasonable.

madamekelly

I have a different way to put pictures on fabric that I am going to start using for my labels because I did it on a pillow with a wedding photo as a momento I made for my sister when she got married 36 years ago, and I recently saw it again, and it is still fresh and bright after all this time and many washings.
I saw the idea years ago on a program that featured a lady named Aileen. I don't remember any more than that.


Take a washed and dried piece of fabric a bit bigger than the photo or big enough to use for your purpose. White or very pale fabrics work best but it is your project so.....

Make a photo copy of your photo on the lightest weight paper you can get away with. (You will see why in a minute.) If you photo copy is a little wavy from all the ink, give it a gentle press with a warm not hot iron before the next step.
Work on a clean surface covered with plastic wrap or a large garbage bag. Use a product called "OK To Wash It" and with a brush or sponge put a thin coat of the "OK To Wash It" all over one side of the fabric.
Now comes the tricky part. Very carefully lay your picture face down in the glue. Do not try to reposition it, you can't. (that is why I use a larger piece of fabric, if I get it crooked, I can recut it)
Smooth the back of the paper to the fabric with a very light touch. Care fully pick up the fabric/paper and move to a clean area on the bag. Let dry 24 hours. Do not try to hurry it with an iron, (it won't work that way.)
after twenty four hours, dip the whole fabric/paper into warm water. Let it set in the water for about 15-20 minutes. Take it out of the water and lay it on plastic face up. You can now begin to rub the paper away from the picture, don't worry the first time I thought I would never get all of the paper off either, but it will rub off, re-dip if needed. What you are doing is taking the paper off, but the ink has now transferred to the glue, and has become part of the fabric. When all the paper is gone, lay it out to dry. It can be ironed when dry, with a pressing cloth.

I hope some of you try this method. If you can make a good photo copy, you can make a photo quilt with this method, and it will last forever, well, as forever as the fabric lasts...Lol!

Rose Bagwell

I have never use Retayne. I only use muslin wash and rinsed with no fabric softener. After pictures are printed , I will wait for 10 - 15 minutes then without peeling off freezer paper, I use a cloth like muslin over picture side then I iron and I heat set the picture flip and do this on both sides . I wait 20 minutes and heat set again.

Jingle

I have heard to let water set out and the chlorine is suppose to leave the water. I haven't tried it.