Simple (and cute!) DIY Tea Towel

Hi friends! Thanksgiving is on its way, and I was looking for a fun craft for my MOPS group to make. We were doing a lesson on anxiety, and Philippians 4:6 was one of our key verses:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (NIV).

The phrase that stood out to me was “with thanksgiving.” We are to always be thankful in our approach, and I think that’s an important reminder for all of us as we go through our daily lives. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I designed these simple and cute DIY tea towels for our moms to make. They’ll be a great addition to any Thanksgiving/fall décor, and since we’re to always approach God with thanksgiving, they’ll be a good reminder for us all year long.

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Supplies you’ll need:

• Tea towel/flour sack

• Fabric paint

• Two small paint brushes

• Stencil vinyl

• Ruler

• Cricut, razor blade, or other vinyl cutter

• Cardboard

• Iron (depending on fabric paint directions)

Step 1: Create your stencil

For this project, I used Cricut Design Space to create my design. I used a circle floral picture and mixed fonts to create the “with thanksgiving” saying.

First, determine the size stencil you’ll need by folding your towel and measuring the desired space. Measure the white space to determine how large of a stencil you’ll need. Use your cutting machine or other desired method to cut out the design and then weed out the letters to create your stencil.

I prefer to use a stencil vinyl, but any non-permanent vinyl will work to create your stencil.

If you don’t have a machine vinyl cutter, you can print the design on regular printer paper and trace the design onto vinyl. Use a razor blade to cut out the letters from the vinyl. This method works well for larger, thicker fonts and shapes. If that’s not an option, you can also purchase pre-made stencil letters to make your design.

Step 2: Place your stencil on the towel

Once your stencil is completed, remove the vinyl backing, taking care not to twist the vinyl onto itself. If you go too quickly, the stencil can twist and stick onto itself. If this happens, carefully pull the design apart, making sure not to rip the stencil.

Place the stencil onto the towel in your desired area, and carefully smooth down all areas. You want to make sure the design is securely connected to the towel to prevent the fabric paint from bleeding under the stencil. 

Step 3: Place cardboard under the stencil

This step is important! Tea towels are thin, and the fabric paint will bleed through the top layer, so put your piece of cardboard under a single layer of fabric. I made many a towel forgetting this step, and I ended up with paint on multiple layers of towel. The towels are still usable, but they don’t look as nice.

*Tip! Do not remove the cardboard until your design is fully dry. 

Step 4: Paint

For this step, you can use any fabric paint you like. They have fabric paint pens, but I went with a jar of fabric paint you apply with a paint brush.

*Tip! Dilute your fabric paint with water

I applied the fabric paint several times to find the best approach, and I found that the fabric paint didn’t bleed through the stencil as much if I first diluted it with water. I poured about a teaspoon of paint onto a paper plate and used an eye dropper to drop 3-4 drops of water onto the paint. I thoroughly mixed the paint before starting.

When applying the paint, I found that a dabbing motion worked much better than paint strokes. Carefully and lightly dab the paint in thin layers over your design, taking care around the edges.

Step 5: Remove your stencil

You want to remove your stencil while the fabric paint is still wet. After completing your design, wait just one to two minutes and remove your stencil at a 45-degree angle. A solid, swift motion works better than slowly removing the stencil. You don’t want it to stick back onto the fabric and leave ink behind. Leave the cardboard in place so the fabric paint doesn’t bleed onto other areas of your towel.

These stencils are reusable, so save your stencil for another application! If you are going to immediately make another towel, I recommend placing the stencil on a paper towel and dabbing the fabric paint off the top and bottom. If you place it onto another towel immediately, some of the paint on the underside will get on the towel and ruin your design.

If you aren’t going to use the stencil immediately, you can save it for later by placing it back onto the vinyl backing sheet. 

Step 6: Fill in stencil marks

After you remove the stencil, you’ll see the small gaps in the letters with connected white space. Use a very small paint brush to lightly paint in and fill in the gaps. If you like the stencil marks, you can skip this step. 

Step 7: Let dry

You now need to allow your design to completely dry before moving onto the next step. The drying process depends on how thick you applied the paint and your brand of paint. Leave the cardboard in place during this step to avoid smearing paint. 

*Step 8: Heat set your design

This step depends on your paint brand. For the type I used, the back of the bottle instructed to heat set the design by ironing the back of the design for 30 seconds after it was completely dry. Follow the directions on your paint brand. 

This simple and cute DIY tea towel turned out so great, and I can’t wait to make more for other holidays and occasions! This one is going to look so great with my Thanksgiving/fall décor, and it’s such a great reminder to approach prayer with thanksgiving.

Let me know if you have any questions, and please share your finished designs. I’d love to see them!

Happy crafting!