Printing photos on quilt fabric
 

I want to put some photos on a quilt. Can you give me your advice on what is best to use? Something that has the fabric attached to the paper, is that best? And which kind stays bright and washes well?

8.5 x 11 is probably the biggest that can be done right?

are you printing them on your computer printer? I've use some sheets designed for that from Joanne's. It worked ok but I'm not sure about how long it really has lasted--it's seeming to fade. I have also taken a picture or two to our local t-shirt/embroidery shop and she's done an outstanding job and frankly,think it was worth my $$ to go that way.

I think you're right. I've done the print at home ones and while they looked pretty good to start, they do seem to be fading. I think that Spoonflower also will print your pics on fabric. I've heard very good things about them.

I’ve looked at the spoonflower site and I’m kinda confused on how to do it

I admit that it is confusing. I just dove in and backed out when it didn't seem that it was going right. I had to adjust my picture several times... make the picture 'horizontal' with the long way side to side. Also, when they suggest 150dpi, they mean it :) I found that I couldn't do that in Paint; sure wish I could remember how I did that! I designed my file to fit an 18x22 fat quarter but didn't have the dpi right. And I tried my default type as .bmp and they don't accept that... use .jpeg . I'm still waiting for the FQ to arrive, it's only been a few days.

I have used the printer fabric that you can buy and I think the problem is that ink is not the quality it was! It's more expensive but not better. I have made my own so that I wasn't restricted to 8 x 11 one of the pictures I was using was longer. I did the original method of using muslin that was soaked in Retayne and Synthropol (I believe that is the name of it). I made a memory quilt 10 years ago and am told it still looks good. However it was a wall hanging. Good luck!

A lot depends on your printer and ink. Some are going to give you better results than others, and some can print up to ledger (11x17).

You can print on any fabric, including prints if you want. Simply iron your chosen fabric (right side up) onto a piece of freezer paper and do a nice clean cut 8.5x11, or whatever your printer will accept. I'm typically using Kona solids and not the by-the-sheet stuff. This past November though a friend helped me with photoshopping a picture onto a graphic and we used her printer and sheets. She's taught photo-quilt classes and knows what she's doing.

The ink you use in your printer plays a big role, I got good results with Canon brand ink, after using Rit dye fixative on the printed pictures they retained their bright colors, I later tried printing pics with an off brand ink and the colors weren't nearly as bright and they faded even with the fixative and lots of heat setting.

I use Fabric Studio inkjet printable fabric. It has a very soft hand and I am pleased with the color results. I do follow the directions for dipping in Snuggle, and I do heat set. I've not had any problems with fading.

I just used a good quality white fabric and used Terial magic so I could run the fabric through the printer. I made a table runner this way for a gift, but don't know how well the colors held up. I did heat-set the colors with my iron hoping to keep them bright.