apple stamping on fabric tutorial

I’m hearing lots of complaints about all of the clouds and rain that have been hovering over our New England town, but I’m finding that I’m genuinely enjoying the cool days. We’re bound to have a whole array of those 95 degree, humid days this summer, so I figure I should savor every cool, comfortable day that comes my way. It does make for windy, twisty, find-something-to-do-all- day-long kind of days, though, which is why I found myself wrist deep in fabric paint and apples. It all started with apple slices for lunch, and before I knew it I was getting busy with old fashioned vegetable stamping. Instead of the usual craft paint on paper, I coated the fruit with fabric paint and stamped right onto some t-shirts and a tea towel.

You’ll need:

some apples (1 or 2), sharp knife, fabric paint (green and red), paint brush, and a bunch of t-shirts, bags, tea towels and anything else you would like to print on.

How to:

1. Have all of your t-shirts, tote bags, bibs, and tea towels set aside and ready to use. Pre-wash all items and put newspaper or cereal box material inside shirts/bags and underneath tea towel to prevent leakage.

2. Cut your apple in half. Slice apple with sharp knife. Cut straight down the center (the long way) while being mindful of cutting evenly and precisely. It is imperative that the apple is cut evenly or else it won’t print fully and evenly. You are aiming to have a nice apple shape, but since you are working with a real apple, slight irregularities and imperfections are part of the charm.

3. Brush some red fabric paint on to the apple being sure to coat well. Avoid over coating the apple by smoothing out any little puddles of paint.

4. Press the painted apple firmly onto the prepared surface. Use your other hand to apply even pressure over the whole apple. Carefully lift apple off of t-shirt. Now, the apple part is done! The next job is the leaf.

5. Using the other, unpainted, part of the apple, cut a 1” thick cross-section. Then, using the sharp knife, carefully cut a leaf shape out of the cross-section.

6. Evenly coat the leaf with green paint and then firmly press onto surface just above the apple.

7. Let painted surface dry. Once dry, follow directions on paint jar for setting the color. Most paints ask that you heat set with an iron or clothes drier.

xo e