When an idea for a project turns out better than expected, it is quite exciting for me! The transformation of basic flour sack towels into “designer towels” with the use of fabric markers was a fun project. Simple hand-drawn leaf and stripe designs were used and it took about 5 to 10 minutes to finish each one. In this blog post, I will be sharing with you the instructions and the steps to make these pretty towels. I also included illustrations of different types of leaves you might want to include in your designs.
The finished flour sack towels are lovely for displaying when not in use. They also make great gifts to share with others.
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Materials:
1. flour sack towels {press the creases and wrinkles out with an iron}
2. pins
3. leaf drawings {below pic} and templates {optional}
4. fabric markers {black}
5. masking/painter’s tape
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• print leaf images for reference, click here •
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Design #1: A Border With Leaf Designs
Place a flour sack towel on a flat surface. With a fabric marker, draw thin curved branches {2″- 3″ long} along the bottom edges of the towel with spacing between each one, then go back and add leaves {see different leaf ideas above}.
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Design #2: Striped Borders
Place a flour sack towel on a flat surface. Determine where to place the stripes on the towel and use painter’s tape to mask off the area from one end of the towel to the other. I kept all the stripes contained to a narrow width of about an inch. Use the fabric marker to draw along the edge of the tape for thin stripes or color in an area between two pieces of tape for thick stripes.
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Peel off the masking tape to reuse to make more stripes before discarding. Be mindful and not use it if there is any ink residue on the sticky side, it could transfer back onto the fabric.
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Design #3: Laurel Wreath
To make a laurel wreath, start by making a template of a half circle {4″ in diameter, above pic} and make a mark to indicate the middle of the two sides. Place the template under the fabric and pin it in place, a soft outline will be visible through the fabric. With a fabric marker, start at the top of one side of the half circle and trace down to the middle and continue drawing the line below the half circle, about a half-inch longer. Repeat the steps to the other side of the half circle, making sure the two lines/branches cross at the middle. Draw leaves on the branches, spacing them fairly evenly.
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The three finished towels.
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When all the flour sack towels were completed, they were machine washed, tumbled dry, and ironed. In the above picture, the washed towel with a laurel wreath was slightly faded {the look I wanted}.
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A simple and sweet gift idea.
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A handmade striped towel was added to this special gift package.
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A bouquet made from fresh herbs.
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The three designs used on the towels complimented each other well.
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I hope you will have as much fun with this project as I did.
• print leaf images for reference, click here •
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Posted by Kay
Happy Mother’s Day, Kay! Have I told you lately how much I love your blog?! It’s special, lovely and fun, just like you!
Absolutely loved this diy and I enjoyed my time spent at your lovely blog. I invite you to share at my Thursday Favorite Things link party. Tonight through Saturday at midnight (MST) Hugs!
Where do you source your flour sack tea towels? I’ve had a hard time finding good quality at a more reasonable price.
Hi Bonnie! I purchased my flour sack towels a year ago from Target store. It came in a set of 4 towels for $8.00. If they don’t have it available, another retail store, William Sonoma has it on sale for a little more ($12.76). I hope that helps. Take care.
Absolutely LOVE the tea towels! Cannot wait to decorate my flour sack towels. Which fabric marker do like best? Not liking the way the ones I have look on my test cloth.
Thank you.