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    Home » DIY Projects

    DIY Hand Printed Tea Towels with Fruit

    by Patti Estep · Jul 21, 2021

    Jump to How-to Card
    Green and blue fruit printed tea towels

    Learn how to use flour sack towels, fabric or craft paint, and fruit from the kitchen to make fun and functional hand printed tea towels.

    Two hand printed tea towels hanging. One is printed with green limes and the second is blue oranges.

    I have a thing for tea towels. I especially like flour sack towels because they are large and very absorbent. They are also pretty inexpensive and you can buy them in a 6 pack or more.

    Today I'm sharing a fun project that's not new, but I haven't tried it before even though I have always loved the look. Printing or stamping on fabric with fruit.

    A lemon, lime, blood orange and an apple cut in half on a table.

    How to Print on Flour Sack Towels with Fruit

    1. Pick out some fruit shapes that you like. I particularly like citrus fruit because they are round and have sections that look pretty when stamping. However, I also used an apple and cut it in half to show off the pretty flower shaped or star shaped seed pattern in the middle.
    Half a lemon with a paper towel blotting off the juice on the cut side.

    2. Use a paper towel to blot off any excess juice.

    Three stamps lemons with yellow paint on paper showing the image after each print.

    3. Add fabric paint, or craft paint with a fabric medium added, to the fruit with a paintbrush. Then practice on a piece of paper to get the look you want. I found that I needed to reapply a thin coat of paint each time to get the right print.

    Note: Feel free to add a little water if your paint is too thick.

    Image showing a workspace with a jar of water, paper plate with paint, a paintbrush and a tea towel with green lime prints.

    4. Stamp the fruit in a pattern that you like. I went with one to two rows at the bottom. However, you could add fruit prints all over the towel.

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    A ruler with a black painted line underneath over a two rows of lemon printed stamp images on a flour sack towel.

    5. Add some linear lines if you like. I used a ruler to help to paint the black lines but anything with a nice straight edge would work fine.

    A lemon yellow print and an apple print in blue tea towel with black stripes on  a table.

    6. Allow the paint to completely dry (usually 24 hrs) before setting it with an iron. Follow the directions according to the manufacturer. For my paints, the instructions say to iron the backside of the fabric for 3 to 5 minutes on a cotton setting.

    Two fruit hand printed tea towels hanging. One with lemon yellow prints and one with an apple print in blue.

    7. Wash on a gentle cycle with mild detergent and do not use bleach unless you need to spot treat an area.

    Green and blue fruit prints on two flour sack towels.

    I plan on using these guys for my everyday kitchen towels. I'm pretty sure that they will eventually wear and possibly fade over time but I'm not worried about that. In fact, I think they may look pretty cool with a little wear. Maybe even better.

    Patti signature

    More Tea Towel Crafts

    • Flower Pounding Tea Towels
    • Family Recipe Tea Towel
    • Fern Printed Tea Towels
    • Eco Printing
    Two fruit stamped flour sack towels
    Print

    DIY Hand Printed Tea Towels with Fruit

    Making original custom hand printed tea towels with fruit from the kitchen, paints and flour sack towels.
    Prep Time1 hour hr
    Active Time1 hour hr
    Additional Time10 minutes mins
    Total Time2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
    Course: Decorate
    Yield: 6
    Author: Patti Estep
    Cost: $20

    Equipment

    • Ruler
    • Water glass

    Materials

    • Flour Sack Towels
    • Fabric Paint or Craft Paint with Fabric Medium
    • Paint Brushes
    • Paper Towels
    • Paper plates

    Instructions

    • Wash, dry and press flour sack towels.
    • Cut fruit and blot excess juice with paper towels.
    • Use fabric paint diluted with a bit of water or craft paints with fabric medium mixed in.
    • Paint on the fabric paint onto the fruit in a thin layer.
    • Practice on some paper to get the print and thickness of paint that you like.
    • Press the fruit onto the tea towel in any pattern you like.
    • Add stripes or other details.
    • Hang towels and allow them to dry.
    • Press the towels with an iron to set the paint. Check the manufacturers instructions. You may need to cover the paint with a cloth before pressing.

    Notes

    Wash the towels on a delicate cycle and line dry to keep them looking their best. You can allow them to wear naturally over time too. In that case, you can wash them in a regular wash and throw them in the dryer.
    Tried this project?Tag @hearthnvine on Instagram
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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kathy

      July 14, 2022 at 1:19 pm

      Hi Patti, I love these fruit stamped towels!! So fun to make! I heat set my towel on cotton setting for 30 seconds and just a couple of my lemons ended up with a slight brown spots inside the edge. These spots did not appear until I heat set. Any idea what would cause that? Thank you! 😊

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        July 14, 2022 at 1:38 pm

        Kathy, I'm so glad to hear that you enjoy this project. I'm not sure what happened with the heat setting. Do you think some of the juice got through the paint? That's the only thing I can think of. Maybe it will wash out? Hopefully the overall look is great.

        Reply

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    Hi!

    I'm Patti

    Join me to create lots of fun DIY projects, including crafts, gardening, home decor, and tasty recipes

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