For those who do needlework at home, felt is one of the best materials. You can sew toys, jewelry and decorative interior elements from it. Felt is a very unpretentious material, and it is used by both professionals and amateurs. The simplest and, at the same time, unique thing is to apply a pattern to the surface of the fabric.
Features of professional application of a design on felt
In order to make felt with a good quality pattern, it would be better to take it to a special studio. There are several technologies that can be used.
Direct printing
As a rule, the work is performed using two devices - a printer and a heat press. First, you need to decide what kind of drawing or pattern you want to apply to the material. You can bring your own or select a suitable picture on the computer. Then the thin felt is placed in the printer, and the selected pattern is sent for printing. The paint penetrates the felt well and lies evenly. The image is bright and clear. The printer on which such work is performed is universal and suitable for any fabric. The price of such equipment can range from 100,000 to 650,000 rubles*.
To ensure that the design on the item remains as long as possible, the finished material is additionally passed through a heat press. Felt is placed on the work surface with the design facing up and pressed down with a heat plate. Due to the pressure and heating to a temperature of over 200°C, the paint is even more firmly fused into the material. Heat presses vary in size, power, pressure adjustment methods and, depending on this, can cost 15-100 thousand rubles*.
Thermal transfer printing
In this method, felt printing is done by transferring the design through an intermediate carrier. In this case, sublimation paper. The equipment required is the same as in the previous method. The only difference is that the printer must be filled with special sublimation ink. An image is selected or created on the computer, then it is printed on paper, which is placed on the felt fabric and together they are placed in a heat press. Due to the high temperature, the paper burns out, and the paint is transferred to the material.
Screen printing
This method of producing printed material requires special stencils, separate for each color. On the computer, the drawing you like is divided into separate colors using special programs. Each of them is transferred to different stencils. Felt is stretched on a special machine, stencils are installed on top, and paint is pressed from them onto the fabric.
Stencil machines are divided into 3 types by the control method: manual, semi-automatic and automatic. Additional equipment may also be required: a device for creating stencils, an exposure device, a machine for washing mesh frames. In general, to purchase everything you need, you will need about 200 thousand rubles*.
Thermal application
The easiest way to create felt with a print. To do this, take an adhesive film, from which a pattern is created with your own hands. After that, the felt with the finished applique is placed in a heat press, which fixes the pattern.
Printing on felt at home
Sometimes it is not possible to apply a pattern in special stores. In this case, prints can be made at home. This method is, of course, inexpensive, but complex designs will not work. For printing at home, you will need: an inkjet or laser printer, a regular iron, thermal transfer paper, felt.
Additional informationTo ensure good image quality, it is recommended to find Korean felt with a thickness of 1.2 mm.
First of all, choose a picture that will be applied to the fabric. It can be anything - cars, cartoon or movie characters, sea or forest animals. The picture you like is printed on a printer. You should put the thermal transfer paper on the right side and set the appropriate mode in the print settings.
ImportantThe image is transferred in mirror image, so the letters and numbers on the print must be formatted in advance.
The felt is thoroughly cleaned from dirt and dust. After that, the resulting drawing is placed on it and carefully ironed. The temperature mode should be selected based on the requirements of the instructions for the paper. Time is given for the product to cool down, and the film is carefully removed. Felt printed in this way can withstand about 50 washes.
If you need to transfer a black and white pattern onto felt, it will be even easier to do. You will need glossy paper, a laser printer and an iron.
The required drawing is created in a graphic editor, adjusted to the required size and sent to print. It happens that the printer does not pick up the gloss. In this case, it can be glued to ordinary paper. The printed pattern is placed on a felt blank, fixed to it (ordinary pins will do) and ironed with a hot iron for at least 5 minutes. During this time, the pattern is transferred to the material and the paper is then detached.
What can you use printed felt for?
After applying the design to the felt, the question may arise - what to do with it next? In fact, the scope of application is very wide.
Felt is very popular in the production of educational toys for babies - you can sew a rug, safe toys. And to make them bright and unique, a picture is applied to them, for example, with the baby's favorite cartoon character. Letters made of felt fabric have also become widespread - the child's name, made in the form of voluminous and soft figures, will look great in his room, and the print will help make each letter special.
For older children, it is not difficult to make a soft brooch or clothing decoration. It is enough to select the desired design on the computer and print it. Then the decoration is attached to a pin and a bright hair clip is ready. With the necessary skills, you can take on a more difficult task and make a stylish and fashionable handbag from printed felt. Using graphic editors, the design is adjusted to the fabric and printed. Then, a bag or backpack is sewn according to the selected sketches. In addition, you can add decorations from buttons, beads and sequins to the pattern.
Most girls like to play with dolls. You can make a lot of accessories for them from felt with a print. It is usually difficult to find something interesting in stores, but with enough effort, children's toys will have an extensive and varied wardrobe. Also, felt with a print of LOL dolls will be very popular at the moment. Flat figures are printed using a computer, which can then be used to decorate a backpack, pencil case, notebook and much more.
Thus, having decided on the idea you like and having acquired everything you need for needlework, you can add additional colors to everyday things and objects. Thanks to a wide selection of patterns and designs, you can surprise anyone with a felt product with prints - from a baby to an adult.
* price is valid for 2019
