Terrific Transfer Printing

By Gillian Cooper

Sponsored by:

About

Transfer printing is a fabulous technique for achieving instant, bright colour onto synthetic fabric, relatively mess free. Although some quilters will only use cotton, incorporating a diverse range of fabrics into wall hangings can create interesting surfaces and textures.
This workshop will explain how to use transfer paints, including a variety of paint effects; using masks such as leaves; and the differences that can occur due to the individual properties of some of the amazing array of synthetic fabrics available.
This knowledge will be put to practical use to make pages that can then be stitched into a fabric book.

Available until 31 December 2021.

You will learn:

1) Properties of transfer paints
2) A variety of techniques of mark making
3) How to use masks with transfer printing
4) How to exploit some of the properties of different synthetic fabrics

Materials

Materials can be purchased from suppliers of the Beyond FOQ Shopping Hub, available here: www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk/beyond-foq-shopping-hub/ 

printing

You will need:

NB Gillian is offering a kit of 3 transfer dyes, a sponge brush and a selection of synthetic fabrics to try, including sufficient to make two books on her website at www.gilliancooperstudio.co.uk for £23 plus postage.

  • Transfer dye (sometimes sold as disperse dye) in at least 3 colours
    Copier Paper
  • Water pot and water
  • Small pots to make up the transfer dye into paint, such as yoghurt tubs
  • Spoons for mixing the dye
  • Paint brushes or sponge brushes
  • Apron and gloves whilst mixing and painting if necessary
  • Paper to protect your table
  • Scissors
  • Synthetic Fabrics – a variety to try so you can see the different effects. These could include (but are not limited to): polycotton, polyorganza, acrylic felt, lutradur, evolon, zeelon, stitch-in interfacing – basically any fabric made from manmade fibres. A small piece of several different types would be good to try out (ie 15 x 20cm)
  • Non-woven fabric for the book. Gillian used strips of lutradur cut to 12cm by the width of fabric, plus a piece of heavy weight stitch-in Vilene (S80) 15 x 30cm for the cover. The sizes don’t need to be exact
  • Leaves and seed heads to use as masks – the seed heads don’t need to be flat
  • Iron
  • Ironing board
  • Baking parchment or silicone sheet
  • Needle and thick thread, such as a cotton perle for stitching the book
  • Ruler (to neaten off pages of book)
  • Optional – hole punch – basic or fancy shape

Terrific Transfer Printing

By Gillian Cooper​

Sponsored by:

Transfer printing is a fabulous technique for achieving instant, bright colour onto synthetic fabric, relatively mess free. Although some quilters will only use cotton, incorporating a diverse range of fabrics into wall hangings can create interesting surfaces and textures.

This workshop will explain how to use transfer paints, including a variety of paint effects; using masks such as leaves; and the differences that can occur due to the individual properties of some of the amazing array of synthetic fabrics available.
This knowledge will be put to practical use to make pages that can then be stitched into a fabric book.

    printing

    What you will learn:

    1) Properties of transfer paints
    2) A variety of techniques of mark making
    3) How to use masks with transfer printing
    4) How to exploit some of the properties of different synthetic fabrics

    Materials:

    Materials can be purchased from suppliers of the Beyond FOQ Shopping Hub, available here: www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk/beyond-foq-shopping-hub/ 

    You will need:

    NB Gillian is offering a kit of 3 transfer dyes, a sponge brush and a selection of synthetic fabrics to try, including sufficient to make two books on her website at www.gilliancooperstudio.co.uk for £23 plus postage.

    • Transfer dye (sometimes sold as disperse dye) in at least 3 colours
      Copier Paper
    • Water pot and water
    • Small pots to make up the transfer dye into paint, such as yoghurt tubs
    • Spoons for mixing the dye
    • Paint brushes or sponge brushes
    • Apron and gloves whilst mixing and painting if necessary
    • Paper to protect your table
    • Scissors
    • Synthetic Fabrics – a variety to try so you can see the different effects. These could include (but are not limited to): polycotton, polyorganza, acrylic felt, lutradur, evolon, zeelon, stitch-in interfacing – basically any fabric made from manmade fibres. A small piece of several different types would be good to try out (ie 15 x 20cm)
    • Non-woven fabric for the book. Gillian used strips of lutradur cut to 12cm by the width of fabric, plus a piece of heavy weight stitch-in Vilene (S80) 15 x 30cm for the cover. The sizes don’t need to be exact
    • Leaves and seed heads to use as masks – the seed heads don’t need to be flat
    • Iron
    • Ironing board
    • Baking parchment or silicone sheet
    • Needle and thick thread, such as a cotton perle for stitching the book
    • Ruler (to neaten off pages of book)
    • Optional – hole punch – basic or fancy shape

    Advance preparation

    Please download the pattern from the shop on www.patarchibald.com (for a nominal charge of £1) and trace the elements on it onto the paper side of your fusible web.

    About the tutor

    Gillian teaches City and Guilds courses in patchwork, quilting and sketchbooks in her studio in Balfron, Stirlingshire. Since lockdown, she is offering courses online, using a mixture of video, pdfs, zoom and Facebook groups. Gillian also delivers short workshops and talks to groups across the country, when travel is permitted. Art-wise, Gillian is working towards two exhibitions: Presence: A Sense of Time and Place at the Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh (30 Jan -7 Feb 2021) with Samantha Townsend and Julie Pywell and a solo outdoor exhibition at the Woodland Gallery, Tir-na-nOg, near Drymen from

    Instagram: @gilliantextiles
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/gilliancooperartist 
    Website: www.gilliancooperstudio.co.uk

    Gillian Cooper