Handmade Gifts: Fern Printed Tea Towels

I love using flour sack towels to wipe down the counters and dry pots and pans. They are very absorbent and really get the job done. Here’s a project that will turn the ordinary flour sack tea towel into a pretty decorative hand-printed tea towel that you can proudly hang in the kitchen using craft paint and plants from your garden.

Make hand-printed tea towels for your friends and family this year. They make great gifts and are easy and inexpensive to make.

 Materials

• Flour sack tea towels
• Plant materials – Flat leaves like ferns work best
• Acrylic Craft Paint
• Fabric Painting Medium
• Sponge brush
• Newspaper
• Paper towel

Directions

• Wash, dry and iron the tea towels.
• Spread out newspaper over the work area.
• Lay the tea towel right side up on the newspaper and mark the area you want to print. For example; I wanted to print the area that shows when the tea towel is folded in half and then into thirds.
• Choose your plant material. I used Japanese painted ferns, Autumn ferns and some Boston ferns.
• Gently wipe the leaves with a damp paper towel to remove any debris.
• Practice laying out the ferns on the tea towels to see what looks good to you.
• Mix the fabric medium and the craft paint together on a paper plate.
• Place the fern face down on a separate piece of newspaper and dab the paint generously on the back side.
• Carefully pick up the fern, turn it over and lay it down onto the tea towel.
• Use your fingers to gently press it onto the towel.
• Then take a folded paper towel and press down on the fern.
• The paper towel will pick up some paint so be sure to turn it over or use a new piece before pressing down the rest of the fern.
• Then carefully lift up the fern and view your masterpiece.
• Allow the print to dry for 24-48 hours.
• Heat set the print by placing a thin scrap of material on top and ironing it for 20 seconds.

Note: It takes a few times to get it right so be sure to cut extra plant material and practice on paper first.