Tuesday's Tute: Using Printable Fabric Sheets

The Miss Leila Top is being re-written to this design and will be available later in June.

I've been working on this project for a couple of months.  Most of that time was spent researching the best printable fabric sheet.  I wanted a sheet that was white looking, not yellowed.  I also wanted one that held print well and was washable.  I found almost what I wanted.  The sheets I'm using are everything, except machine washable (per the manufacturer).  The customer service representative said it could be washed by hand, gently with a small amount of fabric softener if necessary.
Why did I work so hard to find such a product?  I want to print images from the computer and use them on my children's clothing.  I'm also trying printable iron-ons and will write about that after a few more tests.
In this project I used the Sew-In Colorfast Fabric Sheets For Ink Jet Printers by Tailor, Inc.  I purchased my 10 sheet package at Hobby Lobby.  They did not ask me to write this post, nor did they compensate me. I have had communication with their customer service, which was exceptional. I simply thought you'd like to know about this type of product and it's uses.
The directions were clearly written on the back of the package and easy to understand.  I followed them to the letter and my project came out exactly as expected.
I found the picture in a digital photo download search in etsy.  But, any digital image works.  After printing the image on the fabric sheet and following the directions on the package to make the image durable, I used a light-weight (sewable) adhesive sheet to fix the photo to the top prior to stitching the embellishments around it.  If you don't need to sew onto the applique, I suggest you use a more durable adhesive sheet. There is a definite difference between lightweight (sewable) and ultra (non-sewable) adhesive sheets.  You must use them for their intended purpose. ;)
I look forward to testing other printed photos for washability.  I want to see what will happen if this top needs to be washed.  Having clothing for children that can't be washed could be interesting.  But, for special outfits that need a special picture...this will work out well.

Happy Sewing!
Debbie