Substitute for Freezer Paper

When printing patterns (appliqué or quilting) I sometimes substitute disposable acrylic pallet for the freezer paper. It seems to be just like freezer paper but is thinner, already cut to size and lays very flat. I buy it at Hobblylobby when I have a 40% off coupon.

I don't do a lot of feather quilting so I did not want to just wing it - especially on my mom's quilt! I found some free quilting motifs at http://forestquilting.com that were just right for this quilt.

I downloaded the motifs and printed onto the disposable pallet with my Epson inkjet printer. I'll add a layer of freezer paper to the back to make the templates stiffer but still able to iron baste in place for marking the quilt.

The large white border will be filled with feathers soon!

Uses for Freezer Paper

Diana Parkes asked if I was nervous printing on fabric/freezer paper in my home computer. The answer was Yes! I've purchased commercial fabric sheets for the printer but had read several blogs about using PFD and freezer paper with good success so I decided to give it a try. I did have a couple of corners turn under and not print correctly but given that the image was in the center of the fabric it did not cause an issue. The corner malfunctions were caused because freezer paper has a tendency to curl. I found that ironing the fabric/freezer papers sheets and then immediately putting them under a heavy book until time to print prevented this from happening.

I even became so brave as to reuse several of the freezer paper sheets, ironing them to new fabric and sending through the printer again. I did trim the edges ever-so-slightly so that it had a clean straight edge to feed into the printer.

This got me thinking about all the uses for freezer paper other than its original. What uses am I missing from my list below? 

Appliqué / Quilting

1. Print appliqué patterns on dull side of freezer paper with ink jet printer. Great for quantities of appliqué patterns or class kits. I got this idea from a class with Nancy Odom.

2. Iron freezer paper patterns on wrong side of appliqué fabric; use glue or spray starch to turn under raw edges. Hand or machine appliqué in place.

3. Place freezer paper shiny side up on wrong side of appliqué fabric and use iron to turn the fabric raw edges to the freezer paper.

4. English paper piecing.

5. Foundation paper piecing.

6. Quilting stencil for hand or machine quilting,

7. Iron several layers of freezer paper together for stiffer templates.  Great expecially for larger circles.

Painting

8. Iron fabric to freezer paper before painting with fabric paint – keeps fabric nice and smooth while painting (if paint is not overly watery).

9. Cut stencil shape out of the freezer paper, iron the freezer paper to fabric and stencil.

10. Use as a mask for areas to not receive paint.

11. Use as a disposable paint palette

Printer

12. Iron fabric to freezer paper, cut to size and print in ink jet printer. Fabric designs, quilt labels, photos etc.

Garment Sewing

13. Trace sewing patterns on freezer paper. Good for multi-sized or often used or torn patterns.

14. Iron freezer paper patterns to the fabric and cut out without needing pins.  Idea from SewMamaSew!

15. Stabilizer for embroidery or decorative stitches

16. Iron to slinky or slippery fabrics before cutting out intricate patterns. Keeps the difficult fabric from shifting while cutting or sewing.