Sometimes things are so obvious that it may take us awhile to recognize them.I started with dye sublimation printing because you could print on things like mugs, tiles, and cutting boards -- any of a large number of items with specially coated surfaces that will bond with dye sublimation inks using heat and pressure.
It's that whole "specially coated surfaces" thing... it took me awhile to grok that the special coating was a polymer coating. The "poly" was the clue... it suddenly occurred to me one day, that must mean you could print onto polyester fabrics!
I hastened to my local Hancock's Fabric shop and bought a couple yards of white polyester satin, and gave it a try.
It has not been disappointing! The images bond right into the fabric, and they are extraordinarily vivid. They do not affect the feel of the fabric at all -- it retains the same soft hand and satiny shiny smoothness as before it was printed.
So far I've made pillows and purses. Here is a little sparkler of a purse that I finished recently, complete with fractal printed pattern, sequin trim and a gold chain strap.
Snazzy, indeed!
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