DIY Sublimation on Polyester

“Every so often change your palette. Introduce new colours and discard others. You will gain knowledge of colour mixing and your work will have added variety.”

 ~ Kenneth Denton, English Painter, b. 1932

I'm getting very fascinated with changing the colours of textiles at the moment - it gives them a new look, added value and we can reconnect with the garment.  Recolouring is like painting, we can dictate what colour to add and as the piece of clothing grows with you and your personality changes, we can change the palette. I have tried natural dyes and looking to explore more (other than using thread stitching to make the changes).

Most, if not all methods, involve the use of natural fibers as the base. Unfortunately, the demand for man-made fibers (MAF) is growing, and the demand for MAF such as polyester surpassed that of cotton in 2002, and is still increasing at a significantly faster rate than other fibers.  It doesn't help that the slump in the oil market has affected polyester prices.

So what do you do with all this polyester? 

It doesn't biodegrade. Recycling is difficult considering that the majority of the clothing is from blended fibers and frankly, it's difficult to remove the stains from polyester garments.

One of my good friends. Leon, is a t-shirt printer and I was very interested with the huge heat press he has at his warehouse.  He's been using it to transfer designs to both cotton and polyester t-shirts. What got me interested was whether we could do it at home. I don't have a heat press, or plan on investing in one, but what about using an iron?

Sublimation?

That's the process that transforms solid into gaseous matter, skipping the liquid phase. In sublimation printing, heat is used to transfer the dye onto the fabric. In fact, you can buy sublimation transfer paper - it's basically like your iron-on transfers.  But if you have a friend who is in the t-shirt printing business then it's nice to go to them instead - just get one sheet printed!

I cut out my design and laid it out on a polyester camisole I got at a swap. [I eventually cut the camisole to make it into a small scarf]

A piece of paper was carefully positioned over the top and then a hot iron was applied over it.

Sublimation

I shifted the cutouts to different locations and applied the iron over the paper for a shorter period of time to create what is known as ghost images.

I was thinking of adding stitching to it to create more depth to the fabric but I think it looks better as it is.

This project took me about 4 hours and I think it was because I used a domestic iron. Do you think this is a technique you would use?

Sublimation on polyester

Update

If you are unable to find the sublimated paper, the next best option is to make your own. I discovered this sublimation powder from Dylon which is available at all good art or crafts stores. The advantages of using this is that it allows you to experiment with different colours (not just black!) and also be able to create your own patterns without having to cut. Just mix it into a paste and apply as if you were painting or drawing. Read about it here.

Textile surface design using sublimation