printing my own fabric

I have a closet full of commercial fabric. I don't use it very oftern. First I became enchanted by hand dyeing and discharging, and then I started printing photos on fabric.

I've been an amateur photographer for a long time. But there wasn't much to do with the pictures except admire them privately. Most weren't good enough to show as art. But then I got Photoshop Elements, and the fun began.

This series is a good example of what I've done. They are all taken from the same photo, a closeup of decaying magnolia blossoms. I lightened the color, added some artistic effects, and printed multiple copies.

This first one was printed on cotton organdy.The copies were rotated and then the one in the middle is applied so that it sticks out some.

The next was the result of printing out like 20 pieces about 1x1 inches apiece. The result harks back to traditional quilt settings. The background is raw silk.

This last one is the rescued result of trying to print too big--the picture pixelated, and the overall picture looked crummy. But cut into pieces, the result was better. I added painted webbing in the shape of a flower.


I use an Epson CX6400 with durabright pigment inks. To feed the fabric through the printer, I adhere it to full sheet adhesive labels (I can't get freezer paper to work for me, these are reusable if you're careful about taking the fabric off). As a result of only being able to print on 8.5x11 fabric, my work has gotten smaller. But I frame these pieces, and people say they like them.