How to Put a Picture on a Quilt

Personalize a quilt with photographs and give it away as a gift.

Transferring a photographic image onto a quilt requires only an inkjet printer, iron and blank transfer sheets. You choose any image you'd like, run it through your printer and use an iron to transfer the sheet to the quilt. Scatter individual pictures throughout sections of the quilt or map out a full mosaic beforehand -- either way will prove to be a unique and personalized quilt.

Things You'll Need

• Inkjet printer
• Iron
• Blank iron-on transfer sheets
• Digital photograph
• Quilt

Instructions

1. Choose the picture or pictures you'd like to include on your quilt. Photographs on a digital camera should be imported to your computer and enhanced according to your specific tastes. Open image files with photo-editing software to make any adjustments to size, color or contrast.

2. Place blank iron-on transfer sheets into your printer. Choose "File" and "Print" to print the images from your computer onto the transfer paper -- some printers have a transfer sheet setting. When words or numbers appear in your picture, you may want to reverse the image so that it transfers correctly -- some printer settings include a "Mirror image" button under the Advanced tab.

3. Cut off any excess paper around the edges of your printed image. Consider the colors of the photograph in relation to the quilt -- choose the correct placement accordingly.

4. Heat your iron to its hottest setting. Iron out any wrinkles in the quilt and let cool.

5. Lay the transfer sheet face down on the section of quilt you chose. Make sure it's positioned and centered however you want it.

6. Iron the transfer onto the quilt's fabric using the hottest setting -- do not use steam. Follow the instructions given for your particular iron-on sheets -- iron times vary between products.

References

• Soft Expressions: FAQs about Photo Transfer Paper/Sheets

Resources

• Avery: T-Shirt Transfers
• HP: Print Your Own Iron On Transfers