How to print on burlap

 

Some of you have asked how I printed the burlap on my last posting the Faux Framed French Burlap Feed Sack.  I used Wilton iron-on transfer sheets (for light fabrics) that I bought at Michaels Craft Store, although any brand of iron-on transfer should work just fine.

First I figured out what I wanted it to say and then went here to have it translated into the chosen language. I picked French because I think their words are so beautiful, but you can pick any language or leave it English. I used Photoshop to create the font and crown image. (Make sure your image is flipped or a mirror  image before printing just as you would if you were doing a transfer on a T-shirt, otherwise you words will be backwards!).

You will need to know how large the surface area you will be covering and from that determine your font size and images. The inside of my frame was 18 x24 inches, because the size of the frame was rather large I ended up using 3-4 transfer sheets in all.

Once you have all your sheets printed, cut out the words (not each letter) and arrange them onto the burlap making sure you have the correct spacing or alignment.

Start ironing the transfers, just make sure you heat it long enough so the image transfers completely, because burlap has tons of texture you will need to iron a little longer than you would if you were doing  a T-shirt.

This next step is important: don’t peel off any of the transfer paper  until you’re completely done ironing all of the words/images onto the burlap. Once you have them all ironed on (still with paper backing attached), go back over the entire project to re-warm the transfers. I discovered that if you pull the paper off  while it is still warm it doesn’t show the shininess you typically get with transfers. While it is still warm pull off the paper. If you pull off the paper when it is cool you will have shinny areas.

Once completely cooled, I lightly sprayed a matte varnish like Krylon Matte Finish spray over the entire burlap piece. What this does is mask any areas that might be showing a sheen or cut out line, it really does work.

Now you can attach it to your frame, depending on how your frame is made, you will either staple to the front or to back. The framed I used needed to be attached to the front so I used a hemp trim to cover the staples.

Ok there you have it, this was my first tutorial so I hope it was easy to understand. If you have any questions please let me know.