https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/hand-painted-tea-towels • Posted by Alana S.
These hand painted tea towels are really easy to make and are a great idea for a gift and lets be honest tea towels are one thing we all use and can never have enough of, especially if your in my house where they are always disappearing! Make a bunch in advance and stash away to be pulled out when a gift needs to be given. Team up with my decorated wooden spoons for the ultimate gift combo.
These hand painted tea towels are really easy to make and are a great idea for a gift and lets be honest tea towels are one thing we all use and can never have enough of, especially if your in my house where they are always disappearing! Make a bunch in advance and stash away to be pulled out when a gift needs to be given. Team up with my decorated wooden spoons for the ultimate gift combo.
Step 1| Select and wash fabric I think it’s better to stick with a natural fabric for tea-towels, I chose a linen and a linen/cotton blend. Most tea-towels are made from cotton or linen so it’s probably best to stick with the tried and true. I made sure I washed all the fabrics first.
Step 2| Make a basic tea towel Cut out your tea towel, I just took the measurements from one in the kitchen, but I made it 2cm wider all round to allow for the double folded edges. I then folded in the two long sides 1cm and ironed flat. Then folded again another 1cm. Then repeated this for the short sides. Sew along each side. I used a contrast thread but you could do a more tonal look if you prefer.
Step 3| Brainstorming pattern ideas & practicing painting Then it was onto the fun part……painting!! I purchased my fabric paint online. The idea behind it is you paint on to the fabric, let it dry, then iron over for a few minutes to set the paint. This makes sure it doesn’t come off in the wash and I can say I have tested it with a tea towel I made a year ago and it still looks like new.
Step 4| Painting Tea Towels Once I was happy with my pattern and technique I moved onto painting my tea towels for real. I used a brush to apply the paint to my foam stencil. After each use of the stencil I reapplied the paint, otherwise the second go would be a lot lighter than the first.
Step 4| Ironing After painting all my tea towels, I let them dry completely then gave them a good iron. The paint brand I used recommended to iron for one minute