If you love the look of handmade prints but don’t want to spring for the expensive price tag on that scarf, bag, or the table linens you’ve been eyeing, you’re in luck — you don’t have to break to bank in order to enjoy clothes, accessories, and home decor that looks chic and trendy. You can spend far less money and a little more time to create your own beautiful prints. Below we’ve shared some of our favorite tutorials for making your own mark on the fabrics throughout your home.
If you’ve got a home printer, you can try transferring an image onto fabric via the method outlined on Craving Some Creativity. She used some small, inexpensive fabric pouches (like the kind you’d use for party favors), clear pocket protectors, a sponge, and fabric markers (these are optional, if you want to embellish or enhance the printed design) to create adorable pouches for the holidays.
Some things to note about this method: depending on how much ink your printer uses, the design will either be clear and crisp or look faded. You can use the fabric markers to make the faded print look clearer, but you may also like this look. Also, if you’re planning on washing the items you are printing on, you will want to test out a scrap piece of fabric and the ink or dye you’re using to ensure that it is washable, or decide if you need to wash it by hand.
If you’d rather print by hand, you can use rubber stamps, foam, masking tape, paper towel rolls, corks, rope, and other items you find around your home that you’d like to incorporate into a design. There are plenty of tutorials for this kind of printing, such as the one from I Love To Create, The Painted Hive, or Ella Claire Inspired.
Remember to read through the entire tutorial before beginning to make sure you have all the items necessary to complete the project. There are some special items you will need, such as fabric brushes, fabric paint or dye, and any blocks or stamps you want to use.
Of course, if you want to get the kids involved and use non-toxic, family-friendly materials, you can go the natural route and use fruit and vegetable dyes as well as fruit and vegetables carved into the shapes you want — try using potatoes, citrus fruits like lemons and oranges, or natural objects such as seashells, stones, moss, dried flowers, and sticks. These will all create one-of-a-kind prints unique to each artist. It’s a great way to spruce up a library bag, a book cover, a blanket, or a headband. You can find tutorials for this sort of project from Linocut Boy, Making Home Base, and Fine Craft Guild.
Whichever method you decide to use, the results are stunning and easily created. You’ll want to add splashes of print all over your home. Happy printing!
