How to Make Photograph Quilts

Photo transfer paper can be purchased in the office supply store and is often promoted for making custom T-shirts. Photo transfer, or heat transfer, paper can also be used to make personalized photograph quilts. Photographs that have been converted to digital form can be printed onto the paper and then transferred to fabric to make photograph quilts.

Things You'll Need

• Photo transfer paper
• Computer with color printer
• Iron
• Fabric
• Thread
• Scissors
• Embroidery thread
• Quilt batting
• Bias tape
• Sewing machine
• Thin wooden dowel

Instructions

1. Decide on the block size of your quilt. The photo quilt will be made up from identically shaped and sized squares. It might be a 6-inch square or a 10-inch square, or another size. Choose one size.

2. Decide on the size of your quilt. It might be a quilt used as a wall hanging or a large bedspread. The quilt will be made up of rows of squares. After you determine the approximate size of the finished quilt, you will know how many squares you will need.

3. Convert each photograph you intend to add to the quilt to .jpg digital format and download onto your computer. Print onto transfer paper. The transfer paper will be loaded, one piece at a time, into your printer.

4. Cut out quilt squares for the photo squares, using the white fabric.

5. Cut out quilt squares from printed fabric, for the squares that will not have photographs. For example, if you are making a wall hanging with 20 total squares and only have 10 squares for photographs, you will need 10 more squares, cut from printed fabric.

6. Transfer your photographs onto the white fabric squares. Follow the manufacturer's instructions that come with the transfer paper. This will involve ironing the image you've printed on the transfer paper onto the white fabric.

7. Arrange the quilt squares. Lay out the squares on the floor and arrange the order of the squares.

8. Sew the first row of squares together, leaving a 1/4-inch seam. Then sew the remaining rows together. When all the individual rows are sewn, sew the rows together to form the face of the quilt.

9. Lay the quilt face (face up) on top of a piece of quilt batting and backing material. All three pieces should be the same size. Attach the three pieces by sewing a loop of embroidery thread through all three pieces of fabric, at the corner of each square. Make a knot, and then go onto the next corner.

10. Finish the quilt by adding batting around the perimeter. If it is a wall hanging, add a strip of fabric on the upper-back side of the quilt, and insert a long dowel, the width of the quilt, to keep the quilt from sagging when hung on the wall.