We had a few plain floursack towels in the kitchen, and I thought it would be nice to decorate them. Hand printing is fun even though it can be unpredictable. I wanted to try to create the feel of fish and bubbles with just circles — the essence of fish (without the smell!).
You will need:
-A few different sizes of empty plastic bottles, or a toilet paper roll, a thread spool, etc.
-Small foam paint brushes — one for each color
-Blue, turquoise and orange fabric paint
-Floursack towel, washed and ironed (the one pictured is 29 x 28" from The Vermont Country Store)
-Tape or something to mark the section you will be painting
-Coordinating fabric, washed and ironed
-Thread that's a little darker than your fabric
-Disappearing ink marker
Step 1: Create a 6" wide band on the bottom of the towel with two pieces of tape. The top of the lower piece is 2" from the bottom edge.
Step 2: Starting with the largest circle first, apply paint dark blue paint to the bottle with the foam brush. Stamp it onto the fabric. Repeat this process until you're happy with how it looks — I wanted it to look balanced but not crowded. Stamp with the medium-sized bottle and turquoise paint, interlocking some of the circles. Print the small orange circles last. Allow paint to dry following manufacturer's instructions.
Step 3: Cut a strip of fabric 1" longer than the width of your towel and 4" high. Fold it lengthwise down the center and press. Fold the top edge down 1/2". Press. Repeat for the bottom edge. Fold each end in 1/2", tucking the corners under as pictured. Press.
Step 4: With right and left edges aligned, line the bottom edge of the towel up on the center fold of the fabric. Fold the fabric up over the towel. Secure with pins.
Step 5: With a 1/8" seam allowance, topstitch around all edges of the fabric. Remove pins as you go.
Step 6: With a disappearing marker (I use white on dark fabric), draw a wavy line in the middle of the rectangle you just stitched. Sew along the curvy line.
This is the second floursack towel I've hand printed. Go here to see the one I made as creative guest for U create last week. I have three more plain towels. . . surely I'll get to them eventually. Nothing plain is safe!
I hope you had a great weekend. We had a couple of very fun visits from friends and family. We spent some time swimming, and I've eaten enough tomato, basil and mozzarella salad for an army. I'll probably have to make pesto; the basil on the deck is taking over!
xo Karin