lwbuchholz

I am trying to make a quilt made with blocks worked around pictures of wildflowers for my mother. I used bubble set jet and the pictures come our pretty good. Softer that the original but OK. I then tried the homemade recipe I found on the internet and found it worked well too but it left the fabric very stiff and some powdery residue on the fabric. I noticed where the powder was the ink didn't stay very good on the fabric. I had even brushed all of the powder off before printing. Has anyone else tried this and had this problem. Any solutions. I tried to find the bubble set jet but I can't find it here. I can get it off the net but I would like to have this ready for Mom's 90th BD. I am going to try to wash all the fabrics today and see how they with stand washing.

Painiacs

Good luck!!

ckcowl

i really can not offer any advice concerning your flaking- recipe for home made bubblejet??? have not heard of a homemade variety.
i dye and print alot of fabrics. i use PFD fabrics (prepared for dyeing) or i prepare my own by prewashing with detergent (no fabric softener) to remove any chemical/oils/sizing from the fabric. then i soak the fabric in a soda ash solution, hang until almost dry- then finish drying when pressing it to freezer paper to run through the printer- i also let the ink cure/soak into the fibers for at least 24 hours before heat setting. good quality permenent ink is also important.

emmah

I wonder if you need to use hotter water to dissolve the ingredients? The recipe calls for hot water, but maybe it should be close to boiling. Because the powdery residue you are getting seems to indicate the ingredients are not really dissolved. Good luck!

lwbuchholz

I did get the water boiling and it did seem like the soda didn't disolve like it should. I have been going back and weighing the ingredients and found that I should have used 1 1/4 cup of water instead of 1 cup. I think the alum shoud have been more too. I have to get more alum and see if that is the case. The soda ash was the right amount and I didn't have fabric softener but found a posting on the net that said that didn't change the results.I found something on the net about using vinegar instead of soda ash. I haven't seen the prepared for dyeing fabric other than the sheets you can buy. The fabric in those seem rougher than I want. I am going to experiment with the recipe. It dyed just as good as the bubble jet set except where the powder built up.
Thanks for your input!!
Lynda

lwbuchholz

You said you had a soda ash solution and that sounds like the recipe I was using. What are the amounts of the ingredients you use if you don't mind letting me know?
Thanks
Lynda