Heat Press Success Samples

In an effort to learn my heat press and the different materials I can print on, I created a lot of samples. The online workshop - Heat Press Success with Jane Dunnewold opened up a new world for me. Jane dealt mainly with paper and I am more interested in printing on fabric...so a lot of experimenting began.

After much trial and error, I found that silk - many kinds,  seem to work best. I am a lover of silk and have accumulated a nice amount of different kinds over the years. Most of it is white or natural as I like to dye my own colors. There are 4 different mordants that silk can be used as a soak. (A mordant is used to hold the color in your fabric...different mordants for different fabrics and effects). I cut 4 squares and decided on 4 leaves that I knew printed well. The crepe du Chine in the upper left corner, has 4 squares, each soaked in a different mordant. The same group of leaves were used on each square. The leaves were also dipped in a chemical for a different effect.  Doing it this way made for an easy comparison. The squares in upper right used a silk noil that was dyed with natural Indigo and the bottom squares are silk broadcloth.

I also used other fabrics besides silk such as linen

Crepe du Chine did pretty well and the 

silk broadcloth (above left) did wonderful...probably one of the best. The synthetic gauze on the right was just okay.

Above is linen on the left and on the right is China silk also known as Habotai. China silk comes in a number of weights...always identified with an mm which stands for momme. The one above on right is an 8mm and a commonly used weight for scarves.

Silk shantung and silk charmeuse on top left and right. They were good but not my favorite although they look good in the photo. You'll notice letters in the corners which told me the mordant I used on that square.

I have a lot of old linens that people have given me and I tried printing on them...just okay...The China silk dyed in natural Indigo on right did a nice job.

Sueded China silk and mercerized cotton (left and right) did just okay. The cotton yielded the most disappointing results so won't be printing on it for quilts...will have to stick with silk.

China silk 15mm on the left did well and the silk organza on the right did fantastic. You're seeing shadows as the organza is so sheer and showing layers underneath. I love using overlays so I have been making a lot of organza pieces.

Next up is synthetic interfacing and rayon...both did well but not something I would reach for first...but maybe just to have another texture might be nice.

Georgette on left and chiffon on right...all fabrics are silk unless noted otherwise. All the sheers seem to do very well.

My very favorite silk for printing is silk noil...a very inexpensive silk as it is made from the inner part of the cocoon...and the filaments are not as long and luxurious as other silks, but the fabric itself has a wonderful texture, takes a dye beautifully and prints so well...I'm a fan...can you tell?!

I'm also experimenting with dress goods, some woolens I have and so far, so good....will keep you posted.