Today, I have some fabulous stenciled kitchen towels to share with you. As a bonus, I am sharing the files for your personal use to create these beautiful Christmas icon stencils.
Christmas time is my favorite time of year. I don’t know about you, but I have been working so hard on getting the house decorated and all of the shopping done. We bought a fixer upper home so we like to keep the decorating budget to a minimum. And by fixer upper, I mean bad. So bad, in fact, that the floors required replacing before we could move in. Almost everything in the house is DIY or a thrift-finds in some way. Now that the Craft Room is completed, I want to work on cute projects all the time. I wanted to spread some Christmas cheer to the kitchen and that is how these stenciled kitchen towels came to be.
There are 3 designs: a leaping deer, Christmas trees, and ornaments. Each design has text and can be interchanged as you see fit.
If you have a Silhouette and the Silhouette Studio Software, you can download the SILHOUETTE CUTFILES HERE.
Don’t worry if you don’t though! I also have the stencils available as a PDF DOWNLOAD.
Leaping Deer and Be Merry // Christmas Trees and Season’s Greetings // Ornaments and Believe
Supply List
- Sack Flour or Tea Towels
- Craft Knife (only if you do not have a cutting machine like this)
- Adhesive Backed Vinyl or Adhesive Stencil Material
- Fabric Paint
- Foam paint brush (pouncer or stencil brush preferred)
- Cardboard or plastic sheeting
How To Stencil Towels
First, wash and iron your towels, then fold the towel so that the stencil is placed where you want it to be.
Using the vinyl or other adhesive stencil material, cut the images with either a cutting machine or with a craft knife. Slide a piece of cardboard or plastic sheeting under where you will be stenciling to prevent the paint from bleeding through. Lay the stencil into place. I like to roll from the top down to prevent mistakes like the paper sticking to itself.
Now, the fun painting part! Here are a few stenciling tips.
First, make sure you are using a vertical stamping motion and not a side-sweep brush stroke or you risk pushing the paint under the stencil. Secondly, I like to work from the inside to the outer edge. After you finish stenciling, leave the stencil in place and allow to dry about 1 hour. If you notice any spots that need touching-up, you can apply a second coat in those areas.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, they will need to be heat set after drying for at least 24 hours to make the paint permanent. Use a dry iron at medium-high heat on the back side of your towel, and iron in small sections for 3-5 minutes.
Yes, once the paint has been heat set, they will be machine washable. Make sure to use the gentle cycle, and either line dry them or machine dry them on low.
After it’s mostly dry, peel the adhesive material off of the towel and remove the cardboard backing. In my house, these towels are made to look pretty and no one dares dry the dishes with them. However, if you are using the fabric paint, they should be machine washable. Check the instructions on your fabric paint to be sure. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Looking for more Christmas Inspiration and Crafts? Check Out Our Other Ideas:
- Free Printable Plaid Gift Tags and More Charming Free Printable Tags
- Christmas Tree Gift Boxes
- Star Tree Topper Template
- Unique Gift Wrapping Ideas
- or Check Out Our Holiday Home Tour
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Carrie @ curlycraftymom says
These turned out nicely! I am actually working on a similar project with my Silhouette for a dish towel for my wine cart. I am worried about it bleeding under the vinyl stencil. I’ll use your tips, thanks!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Elise says
These are beautiful!!! I think I will have to make a dozen sets – one for each monthly holiday!!! 🙂
Leslie says
These are too cute! I haven’t used my silhouette machine in forever, like it;s been months. This is a fun project! It makes me want to play around with mine. I can’t figure out how to cut vinyl yet though.