Bondaweb (Wonder Under in the US) is a fusible webbing and goes by various names
but it is readily available by the yard from most fabric shops or haberdashers.
I carefully feed the bondaweb (complete with backing paper) through my inkjet
and print my images directly onto the webbing. Once the printing is complete I
simply iron them to whatever background I am working with, using baking parchment
between the iron and the web (otherwise you end up with a very nasty ness on
your iron!) The surface will feel slightly sticky at first but this soon wears
off. You can paint the bondaweb too, with acrylics or watercolours and then transfer
it to fabric or paper in the same way....it gives a lovely aged effect as
a base for machine embroidery, more paint or collage. The thing I like best about
this method is the surface texture that you end up with. Bondaweb on cotton
feels like suede and makes fabulous book covers (see photo Bondaweb 2). I even
use the backing paper once the bondaweb has been ironed off..I love the diffused
image that it leaves behind! Important: I only ever do this with an inkjet printer...please do not try to put Bondaweb through a photocopier or laser printer as the heat would almost certainly melt it in the machine..ugh!! Bobby Besley |
Transferring Images to Paper or Fabric Using Bondaweb |
Printed Bondaweb ironed onto polycotton fabric |
Printed Bondaweb ironed to cotton which has then been attached to card, stamped over
and used as a bookcover |
Printed Bondaweb ironed onto polycotton backed with felt, this has then been further
enhanced with machine and hand stitching. |
Text printed onto Bondaweb and ironed onto a hand dyed cotton background. |
Painted Bondaweb ironed on top of handmade, hand dyed felt. Chiffon scarf scraps
were added on top of the Bondaweb before ironing and melted together to the surface
giving a lovely distressed feel. This was then machined with metallic threads
and carved with a hot soldering iron! Gives a really antique feel. |
Acrylic over Bondaweb transfer. |
