DIY Image Transfer Thank You Note

Say a truly personal thank you to your nearest and dearest with these vintage style photographic fabric thank you notes and hand made fabric pockets. Use images from your big day and patterns from stationery to make them extra special.

DIY Image Transfer Thank You Note

Skill Level

Intermediate

Time to Make

Image transfer 30 mins plus 24 hours drying time Card making 1.5 hour including pocket.

How to Make

Image Transfer

  1. You will need your photographs printed or copied onto normal copier paper in colour or black and white. Cut these designs to a little larger than the size you require. Create one circular design for the note, and a whole A4 page for the pocket.
  2. Lay out a waterproof sheet (plastic / heavy duty foil or board covered in clingfilm). Lay your fabric on top.
  3. Shake the image transfer medium well. Apply a fairly thick coat over the entire printed image, so that you can just see the image below. Make sure you apply the medium to the printed side and cover all the way to the edges. Place face down onto the fabric.
  4. Lay a clean piece of white copier paper over the top and roll over the surface for about 30-45 seconds to ensure they are well bonded to the fabric. Remove this top protective piece once you have finished rolling.
  5. Lift the fabric gently to ensure it isn’t stuck to the waterproof layer below and then allow to dry thoroughly overnight.

To remove the paper

  1. Apply a damp sponge to the paper in small sections and use your finger to gently rub the paper away. This will take patience and time! If you rub too hard parts of the image may be removed (and will create a more aged effect). Try not to let the image get too wet, and allow to dry if the surface starts to feel slimey in any way and then go back to rubbing until the paper is fully removed.

To make the note:

  1. Cut a circular design from your chosen photo, about 8 cm in diametre. I used pinking shears for all pieces.
  2. Cut a hessian circle about 10 cm in diameter.
  3. Cut a 30cm length of lace ribbon.
  4. Use a sewing machine to stitch the 3 pieces together. Hessian at the bottom, lace sandwiched in the middle, image on top. When placing the ribbon, ensure that you start sewing it about a quarter of the way down at the top of your image, so that it creates a hanging thread. Take your time, gathering the ribbon when necessary.Once complete, tie the ribbons together at the top of the hanging note.
  5. Add a message onto a piece of card or paper and thread through the ribbon.

To make the fabric pocket

  1. Cut a rectangle about 12 cm x 22cm with pinking shears out of your sheet of image. With it in a portrait position in front of you, with the plain fabric side up, fold the bottom edge to the top, about 3 cm from the top edge. Stitch down both edges with a sewing machine to create a pocket.
  2. Fold the top part of the pocket over, to find where the top of the pocket is once closed. Sew a long length of lace ribbon in the centre at this point. The piece of ribbon should be about 60cm long, and the stitch at roughly the midway point. See picture for guidance.
  3. Fill the fabric pocket with your note and then use the ribbon tied around the pocket to fasten.
DIY Image Transfer Thank You Note DIY Image Transfer Thank You Note DIY Image Transfer Thank You Note

Top Tip

The beauty of image transfer is that you can make each note personal so use pictures from your big day, images from your wedding stationery, or pictures of guests to ensure that personal touch. For a more vintage feel, rub a little harder in small areas when removing the paper. Make sure the fabric has been washed before applying medium otherwise it may not bond with the fabric properly.