Friday, February 20, 2015

Tea Towel Tutorial

Hello, Friends!  Marilyn here with a tutorial on how to create tea towels from flour sacks.  Once you get the hang of this, you could use this idea to scan all kinds of designs to put on your flour sacks.

For example (think Mother's Day gifts here)

  • Children's Art Work
  • Old Family Recipes

Tea Towel created using flour sacks from Target.  

I created this tea towel for my kitchen using the following:

  • Flour Sack Towels: I purchased a set of 4 from Target for $3.99
  • Ink Transfer Paper:  Mine is a specialty paper from RPL Supplies.  But you can purchase transfer paper from an Office Supply store.
  • Printer:  I have a Ricoh 7100.  If you're using transfer paper from an office supply store, you can use your home printer.
  • Heat Press or Iron:  You'll need a hot iron to transfer the image from the paper to the towel.  Follow the instructions on your transfer paper.  If using a heat press, press for 20 seconds at 375 degrees.
  • Image:  You will need an image to put onto your towel.  I used an image from My Vinyl Designer.  But you could scan and use your child's art work.  Or maybe an old family recipe.  

Step 1:  Get Flour Sacks

Flour Sacks from Target.  Four for $3.99
I found Flour Sack Kitchen Towels at Target.  They came in a pack of four and cost $3.99.  They are located in the kitchen towel section.  Once opened up, they are have a thin gauze-y feel to them.

Step 2:  Print your image onto transfer paper.

Image from My Vinyl Designer - flipped horizontally for printing onto transfer paper.
I should point out here that the image needs to be flipped horizontally when printing onto transfer paper.

Step 3:  Iron image onto flour sack.

Peel transfer paper off while hot.  Otherwise, it's stuck to your towel.
I used a heat press to iron my image (375 degrees for 20 seconds).  Make sure you peel the transfer paper off as soon as done ironing.  Otherwise, it's stuck to your towel.  And watch out - it's hot!

I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial!

~ Marilyn