How to Print on Fabric + DIY Coffee Bean Bag Art Scroll
I have always wanted to learn how to print on fabric. After some research and tests, I found a method that is so easy and gives great results!
Here’s a simple piece of home decor – an art scroll made of a piece of rustic coffee bean bag burlap, and vintage botanical art fabric printed with our home printer! By the end of the tutorial, I think you will be in love with printing on fabric!
A few months ago, I made some pallet crates and had so much fun transferring printer images onto wood with only wax paper and water!
This time, it’s just as easy and fun!
*Some resources in article are affiliate links. Full disclosure here.
There are several methods used to print on fabric. I first tried the freezer paper method, but my fabric won’t stick to the paper. Then I tried the spray adhesive method, it worked super well, so here we go!
Materials and tools:
- Inkjet printer, we really like this Canon Color Printer
- paper: I used this card stock which we love for lots of craft projects. It holds up better with spray adhesive, but you can try regular paper as well.
- this Elmer’s Spray Adhesive works great!
- fabric: I used a piece of 100% cotton fabric. Synthetic fabric may not absorb ink as well.
- coffee bean bag or other burlap, needle, thread, ribbon, and wood dowel ( 1/2″ diameter) cut to size for the scroll
First, spray the paper with a thin coat of adhesive, take a piece of fabric slightly larger than the paper, and press it on to the paper we just sprayed.
Start at the center, smooth out all the wrinkles. Then trim off the excess fabric.
Next, feed the paper into the printer with the fabric side being printed. See how nicely it prints?!?
Peel off the fabric as soon as it comes off the printer. It’s easy to peel off if you do it within a few minutes!
If the fabric looks wrinkled, you can iron it after the ink dries, in about 20 minutes. The image I used here is from Victoria Albert Musuem. They graciously allow personal use of their beautiful images.
Next, use the spray adhesive to attach the fabric to the burlap. Stitch the wood dowels and the ribbon for the scroll to hang.
Confession: I am as good at sewing as an untrained monkey. I’m sure your sewing job will be prettier than mine!
Now we have a lovely work of art made from easily available materials!
Hope you will have fun making your own version of an art scroll!
You can even paint an easy watercolor flower painting yourself to print on fabric!
Or just blow bubbles and make your flowers with bubble paint!
Happy creating! See ya!
What printer did you use I am looking to buy a new one as i want to print on fabric for presents.
hi Toni! we really like Canon printers such as this (comes in black or white ), just added the link in our post. 🙂 https://amzn.to/2P6XdIJ
The only fabric I had in the house was the kind you iron into a collar when sewing a shirt. It was stiff enough to go into the printer without backing paper. And you can iron it directly onto another piece of fabric. No adhesive spray needed either. So easy. But could not have done it without your inspiration.
I love all your amazing crafty ideas – thank you SO much for sharing!
Just a bit of a hint that may be useful…
When printing on calico or cotton fabric, iron the fabric onto a piece of copy paper wrapping that’s been cut to A4 size(iron the fabric to the inside shiny side). The fabric sticks well, holds great and is easily peeled off after printing.
thank you so much susan!! LOVE your tips! will try it =)
I’m wondering if you have tips to waterproof the fabric. I’m thinking this method would be awesome to make my own garden flags!
hi Sylvia! there are fabric sprays like these that get good reviews. i haven’t tried them, but now i am really curious! 🙂
Ananda, you seriously drive me CRAZY with these craft projects! I am crazy about DIY and love projects. So, imagine this scenario… I came here for learning to print on fabric..which I’m totally going to do. BUT, then I fell in LOVE with those Pallet Wood Crates. And, now I am obsessed with doing those too! I can totally imagine those palettes in my food photography props! I am seriously in love! xoxo
Wow! This is so beautiful and creative!
Love this! I want to make some of the for my office.
This is so cool! Such a unique piece of art!
Lovely
I love the look of the water color. I will be pinning this and trying it out sometime. Thanks so much for sharing.
Beautiful! I especially loved the crate!,
This is so incredibly pretty and I can’t believe it is easy to do just as you demonstrated in your tutorial. Definitely will try making this 🙂
thank you cara! xo
Hello Ananda,
you are really very creative.
Do please keep it up.
greeting
Uwe
thank you uwe! xx
This is so cool! I’ve tried the freezer paper route too, but didn’t have any success with it. Thank you for sharing!
i gave up on freezer paper, they won’t stick! =)
Oh my goodness…this is so freaking cute. What a neat idea!!
thank you so much kimberly! =)
This looks super pretty! I love that you ended up putting it on burlap.
thank you nancy! i can’t wait to do more with burlap! =)
Wow this is great! It turned out really lovely! I would love to try my hand at this and I am soooo not crafty!
thank you jeanine! this one is easy! =)
That looks like an easy enough project. I will try it out and see how I get on. Thanks for sharing. xxx
thank you dear cherie!! xx