I write the original sun printing tutorial around 2009 and this PDF has the instructions that I still use now. At the end of this article is some additional information about heat setting sun printed fabric. That information applies to any fabric painted with fabric paints like DyeNaFlow.
I sun print a few times each year and use these a lot in my fabric postcards.
Heat Setting Tests
After making a couple of projects with sun printed fabrics and having the fabrics fade I decided it was time to test ways to prevent the color from fading.
I started with a white fat quarter and misted it with water to get it damp. I painted the fabric with a mixture of red and orange undiluted Dye-Na-Flo. I used my buttons again for the resist. After it was dry and the buttons removed I tore the fabric into 4 pieces:
1 – the control – the color after sun printing
2 – heat set with an iron. Ironed on the back of the fabric for 10 seconds
3 – heat set in the dryer on high for 20 minutes
4 – no heat setting at all
Pieces 2, 3 and 4 were then washed in cold water and dried in the dryer.
I was a little surprised that the 3 washed pieces all held their color well. The iron heat set piece held the color the best and that would be my method of treating these fabrics going forward. The dryer heat setting didn’t seem to help at all, that piece is just as faded as the one that wasn’t heat set at all.
I have since made many projects with sun printed fabrics. They do fade over time with multiple washings but I have a quilt that has been washed multiple times. It has a soft faded look but the images are still very clear.
