mamatothreechicks

Hey fellow quilt lovers! I am new to this forum but I've been sewing since my oldest was born, about 5 years. I have made small quilted things but this year for Christmas I am making my MIL and SIL Photo Memory Quilts. I almost have my top finished on my second one. I used June Taylor's washable sew in fabric. My questions.. since I didn't prewash (I never do for quilting), if I throw in some Shout Color Catchers with my finished quilt in the wash, will the photos be ok? Do you machine wash your photo quilts before giving as gifts? I've also read that if you like the wrinkled quilted look, you can throw your photo quilt in the dryer on a low setting to give it a toss, but the directions say to lay flat and air dry.? Also, one more... how many times have you washed the sew in fabric and how has the pictures held up? Thank you for any help or advise! - Jennifer

Treasureit

It is my understanding that the photos on fabric need some help to stay there permanently. I met a lady at one of the quilt shows that sells fabric sheets for this, but they are expensive....but with talking to her she suggests..printing, leave for 24-48 hours to set, then put through a solution of "Snuggle" fabric/water solution and let dry. I don't know if this works on all fabric or not...but it couldn't hurt. I used her fabric on my grandsons quilt. Here is a link to that http://www.quiltingboard.com/links-r...e-t197055.html There is some other good info on there too. You can also search the board for more info on photos.

Treasureit

PS welcome!!

Deborahlees

First and primary question....what does package say.....
One that I have used says to print, let it sit an hour and then rinse in cold water to remove excess ink, dry flat and then iron to set the ink ......
Did you do what the package said ?????

mamatothreechicks

Thanks Treasureit! I haven't heard of the snuggle solution. I know the package say to not use detergent but you can use a small amount of fabric softener if the quilt becomes soiled. Deborahless, yes I done exactly what the package said to do to set the ink. I actually let them sit for 24 hours before rinsing in cold water just to be sure. And didn't have any excess ink at all. I know children will be around the quilts and I don't want them to look horrible after washing a few times. I read about the shout color sheets on a blog but it was used for a regular quilt, not a photo quilt. I also love the wrinkled comfy look/feel and I want to throw it is the dryer for a toss but I'm terrified I'm going to do something wrong and mess all my hard work up!

Deborahlees

I know and feel your fear..... what about taking the photos your didn't like or use,,,sew them into a demo quilt, just a quick and dirty (as my sons used to say)....with an odd piece of batting and backing,,,,do a super quick quilt on the demo. super quick binding (to protect the batting) and then throw it into that washer and dryer and see what happens..... you wouldn't know for sure what will happen (IMHO) until you try a sample..... and I can appreciate you wanting to protect all your hard work....and the pictures are expensive no matter how you do them.
For what it is worth I have also heard that some printer inks are better than others (like Epson vs HP vs Canon) in staying on the fabric and staying true to color..... Good Luck

QuiltnNan

Welcome to the board and happy quilting

mamatothreechicks

Thank you QuiltnNan! It's great to be on here... learning from you great quilters!
Deborahlees, I would test ones I didn't use but I used all 20 sheets for the two quilts. I may just get a small 3 pack and try out a test run though. It would beat ruining the quilts! We have a Lexmark Inkjet Printer so hopefully that's one of the better ones! Thanks for the advise!
- Jennifer
http://www.mamatothreechicks.blogspot.com

QM

Yes, DO read the label completely before you try anything. I know I bought a package of prepared fabric and the results were NOT washable. For future efforts, I have had excellent results using BubbleJet and preparing my own fabrics, which I ironed onto freezer paper before the printing. I know nothing about Lexmark inks. HP makes a big point that their inks are permanent.

mamatothreechicks

Yes, I did buy a pack of these first and they were dry clean only. After I printed 1 picture I saw they were dry clean only, but I washed it anyways to see what it would do and it was horrible. I'll let you all know what I do and what works.
-Jennifer
http://www.mamatothreechicks.blogspot.com