Great Printable Fabric

I had a minor meltdown this evening. I have accepted a donation request on a fairly short deadline for a custom piece. The piece involves reproducing custom art in a wall quilt. Unfortunately my stock did not include enough of my drop-dead favourite cotton poplin for use in my home printer.

Being on a short deadline and having a fairly large project - twenty pieces to print, piece and ultimately quilt - I grabbed my keys, my charge card and headed out to my Local Quilt Store. My local quilt store does not have my product of choice, but they do have a printable fabric product comprised of pre-cut standard sheets that bear the name of a popular professional quilter.

They are crap. The fabric is so flimsy it looks like cheesecloth next to my sashing fabric and every single piece has frayed on all four edges as the paper backing was removed. It is comprised of uneven threads that yield a rough finish. I can't say enough bad about the poor quality of this product - but that's going to be directed to the manufacturer and the artist who has licensed her name to the product.

For you, I will wax poetic about my favourite product - Blumenthal Lansing's Crafter's Images PhotoFabric.

Personally, I buy it in the 12' roll, but it's also available in precuts. This product comes in cotton poplin, cotton twill and cotton/silk blends. The poplin is sturdy, washable once set and - wonder of wonders - doesn't fray in the course of basic handling. Did I mention it's sturdy - with a tight, smooth even weave?

Click the image to find all the current offerings in poplin.

This is what I use when I print handkerchiefs for soldiers in forward units, for printing photos in quilts, for printing kids' art onto panels for a throw cushion for Grandma. This is also, now, my forever product - my shopping list includes multiple rolls so I will never find myself in the position of rushing out to settle for an inferior product again.