Week 1 & 2: Transfer Printing

Transfer Printing

The transfer of image from paper to fabric/other materials through the use of heat & pressure.

Heat melts the pigment of image and is hence transferred from one medium to another through physical contact with the aid of pressure.

TYPES:

  • Dry
  • Wet – Direct/Indirect

Materials

  • Dry: Fabric Crayons, Paper, Fabric
  • Wet: Fabric Ink, Paper, Fabric, Imprint Materials

Instructions

  1. Using fabric crayons or fabric ink, draw or paint desired image on paper.
  2. For Direct Printing, sandwich the paper between 2 sheets of baking paper and the fabric to be transferred to. Iron firmly at high heat, ensuring the paper doesn’t move in the process.
  3. For Indirect Printing, do the same but place imprint material (i.e. leaf) in between the paper and fabric. Use the heat press and leave for 1 minute before removing.

My Explorations

P R E P A R A T I O N ( D R Y   T R A N S F E R )

Firstly, we realised that the fabric crayons, when coloured over textured surfaces can produced interesting patterns. With that, we went out of the ADM building to experiment with different surfaces.

As I have decided on the theme of Outer Space, I explored the blue/purple/pink/black of galaxies.

I also tried to keep the shapes circular to emulate planets and their textures.

And so we coloured on different surfaces including tree barks and tables with holes.

In conclusion, the tree barks resulted in more organic and smaller holey textures compared to the tables which has more symmetric patterns.

I also overlapped colours together to see if it would blend after transfer.

T R A N S F E R   P R O C C E S S

For the iron, I realised that the heat must be sufficiently high (close to the max) for the process to work, or else it seems to require a long wait. However, putting the iron at max kinds of brown/burn the baking paper so it should be moderated.

T R A N S F E R   R E S U L T S

  1. The transferred crayon colours are more vibrant than the initial one.
  2. It is very easy for the paper to move, which resulted in a double print on my fabric, but I kind of like the holographic/trippy effect
  3. The patterns made by tree barks resulted in very obvious spottings, a distinct pattern.
  4. The overlapping colours do kind of appear blended as they get lighter.

 

P R E P A R A T I O N ( W E T   T R A N S F E R )

Next, I explored different ways of using the fabric ink.

I first tried wetting the paper and then dipping one end into it (like paper chromatography) to watch the ink seep and create an ombre effect. However, the spread of colours is uneven so ultimately I found that painting it directly with more and more dilution is more effective.

I was also curious about the effect of alcohol on ink so I tried dabbing it with some wet tissue which resulted in some colours being lifted in a cloudy effect.

Next, I tried wetting the paper and then dripping small drops of ink of blue and red into it and let it bleed out.

I also used a card as a squeegee to spread the ink and made abstract lines.

T R A N S F E R   P R O C C E S S   &   R E S U L T S

I ironed some of the wet transfer pieces onto the fabric as I think ironing is more efficient than the heat press and I think the colours came out pretty well. I think the different textures made gives depth and makes the image more dynamic.

For the heat press, I first tried using frayed threads to imprint and I think it came out pretty nice with a slight fuzzy white outline, almost as if it is glowing.

We found that waiting for 1 minute is a good time as 30 seconds is too short and the colour will not show.

I then tried again with cotton pads slightly pulled apart, together with a sprinkle of tea leaves powder. I was hoping that the cotton can emulate the wisps found in the space galaxies while the sprinkles will simulate stars.

It didn’t turn out exactly like I was hoping for against the ombre background but I would say it does look the sky instead.

C O N C L U S I O N

Overall, I think I am quite happy with my prints and I actually prefer the dry transfer over the wet one because I think for the direct transfer, it can actually be achieved by painting directly on the fabric. Unless, of course, the transfer is done multiple times to build up layers.

On the other hand, the fabric crayon gives a very different result from the initial ones, especially for those which are textured, and can probably be only achieved via transfer.

Nonetheless, the indirect printing is a very novel concept but I think overlapping several times of indirect print will then make it more dynamic than just a a single one.

A P P L I C A T I O N S

Pretty much anything made out of fabric can be decorated with these prints.

fabric painted shorts

Would also be useful to personalise belongings or gifts.

DIY painted baby blanketpersonalized soccer bags

It’s a great way for kid to wear their own creations as well!

kids drawing transfered to t-shirt