Step-by-step plan

Sketchbook cover with bee

Have you always wondered how to transfer an image to fabric? It is not as hard as you might think! This step-by-step plan shows you how you can create a personalised, fabric sketchbook cover using a printed picture and fabric dyes. Choose any colour and image you like or follow this tutorial exactly to create this colourful bee design!

What you need

Fabric
Talens Art Creation sketchbook
Talens Art Creation Textile Silk
Ecoline pipettes
Spray bottle with water
Coarse salt
Heating tool (optional)
Scissors
Amsterdam Photo Transfer Gel
Soft synthetic brush
Printed image
Ink roller (optional)
Sakura Gelly Roll in white
Talens Art Creation Effect Liner in Diamond Glitter

Tips

Use a natural fabric like cotton or linen, as the Textile Silk will not adhere well to synthetic fabrics.
Wash your fabric without fabric softener before starting, this will help the dye absorb into the fabric better.
The image transfer works best with a laser-printed picture.

Step 1

Cut your fabric to match the size of the front cover of your sketchbook. You can also choose to make it double the size to match the entire cover of the book if you want a design on the back and side as well.

Step 2

Wet your fabric and squeeze the excess water out so the fabric is damp, not completely wet anymore. Use the pipette to drop a few drops of the textile silk onto the fabric. You can add more water for a more blended or runny effect.

Step 3

Sprinkle some salt onto the dye. The salt will absorb some of the dye to create a subtle dotted effect. Carefully dry the dye with a heating tool (e.g., a blow dryer). If you accidentally blow away the salt, it will leave streaks, which is also fun to try out, but it depends on what you want your design to look like.

You can also leave it to dry overnight if you do not have a heating tool.

Step 4

Once your fabric has dried, we can move on to the transfer of your printed picture. We chose a picture of a bee, but you can use any image you like! The image should be placed faced down on your fabric, so if you want to work with text, remember to mirror it before printing! The image transfer will work best with laser-printed images.

Use your scissors to cut out the image you want to transfer. Coat the image with the Photo Transfer Gel using the soft brush while making sure not to coat the back of the picture.

Step 5

After the image has been evenly covered with the gel, lay it face down on the fabric and press it on firmly. You can also use an ink roller to make sure the image is evenly pressed down. Let it dry completely either using the heating tool or by letting it dry overnight.

Step 6

Once your image has fully dried, wet it again using the spray bottle with water. This allows you to rub the paper off the image. Continue rubbing the paper until the image is completely visible. Add another coat of the Photo Transfer Gel to protect your image and let it dry once more.

Step 7

Now your image is ready to be decorated using the white Gelly Roll and Effect Liner! Have fun adding highlights and details. We used the Effect Liner in the shade Diamond Glitter to add a little sparkle to the wings of the bee and the white Gelly Roll pen to highlight some of the lines of the image.

Step 8

And that completes your design! Glue the fabric onto the cover to finish your personalised sketchbook. Have fun experimenting with different colours and prints to create your own design on any sketchbook or notebook. If you try to make something like this, let us know by sharing it using #RoyalTalens. We would love to see it!

This wonderful step-by-step plan was made by our lovely colleagues over at the Royal Talens Experience Centre.