How to Make a Photo Transfer Cushion
It's so great to be joining you all here again on the Hobbycraft blog sharing my latest make, which I'm sure you're all going to love. This craft is super simple, quick and cost-effective, and of top of all of that, it's pretty impressive! When I first found out about image transfer mediums, I almost thought it was too good to be true. It's simply some sort of magical sticky glue that transfers printed images on to fabric. Yeah, pretty nifty!
You will need
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How to make
To begin with, print your chosen images that you want to show off. Please keep in mind that the final result will have your image flipped horizontally so if you're keen on having the image in the exact format, edit your image prior to printing.
To prep your cushion cover ready for the adhesive, make sure you fit a piece of thick cardboard in the cover so that no glue or paint can seep through the material. This will protect the back panel on your cushion cover and maintain the mess!
Cut out your treasured photos and rearrange them on your cushion cover so you know exactly where they need to be secured.
Begin painting a thick and even coat of the image transfer medium on to your printed image and be sure to cover all areas with glue. Don't be shy with the glue, you need to make sure it all sticks to the fabric!
Stick your photos face down on to the cushion cover in the layout you want to display. For one of my cushions, I used colour printed images and for the second I printed black and white photos and laid the 3X3 to form a square pattern.
It's very important that you allow the glue to completely dry, so go and put the kettle on and leave the transfer medium to work its magic for the next 3 hours.
When the glue is dry, use a sponge to dampen the paper.
Soak the paper and gently rub the sponge over the back of the image until the paper start to peel away.
Keep allowing the paper to briefly dry so you can judge how much more excess paper needs to come off. You will notice as it begins to dry that some areas dry whiter, almost like a glaze over the image. This means you need to do some more rubbing!
When you're happy that all the excess paper has been removed, apply another coat of the transfer medium on to your (now fabric!) images to seal and protect them.
As soon as they're dry, they're ready to add to/decorate
If you want to add some printed words to your cushion, make sure the letters are flipped before printing as they will be stuck down and reversed on the cushion.
Again, using the same technique, cut out the template of the lettering and glue face down, then repeat the process of rubbing of any excess paper.
Use fabric paints or embellishments to decorate your cushion. Paint on shapes, words or patterns around your photos to really make it your own, or personalise it as a gift.
I created simple patterns around my colour printed cushion, and added bright pops of red on to my black and white one, with hearts in the corners or the printed pattern.
Once all glue and fabric paint is dry, your cushion is now complete and ready to plump with a filling. Your own sentimental masterpiece is complete!
