DIY Ombre Wave Kitchen Towel

During my family’s summer cabin trip a few weekends ago, we started to make a list of the things we need to remember to bring back next year.  The cabin is well-equipped, but as you might imagine, doesn’t have all the things we might bring with us when cooking for such a large group. (If you’re planning a trip this summer, check out our 10 Tips for Your AirBnb Kitchen to prevent getting caught off guard!)  Previous trips have taught me to bring my electric kettle and extra large tea mugs, plus my favorite omelette pan.  This year’s trip was all about the lack of kitchen towels.  As I imagined my bursting shelf full of soft, absorbent towels, I vowed to get a set ready to bring up next summer.

I decided that I’d love to make a full set decorated with all the fun parts of the lake: sunshine and waves and sand.  I got right to work with a few rows of bright blue waves, ombre style.

To get started, gather:

– one kitchen towel in a simple design (pre-washed without fabric softener is best)

– fabric paint in three colors (light, medium and dark blue)

– a small brush

– scrap wax/kraft/news paper to prevent bleed-through and/or protect your work surface

(Before you start, make sure that you’ve got your scrap paper under the section of the towel you’re working on- the fabric paint will likely go through to the other side and you don’t want it to stain anything!)

Beginning about a third of the way up the towel, draw a line straight across the towel using your lightest blue fabric paint.  Freehand draw the wave shapes about one and half inches above that line.

Use your small brush to fill in the wave shape.  I grabbed the paint on the edges and dragged it in toward the center, but you may find that you need a bit more paint as you go depending upon the thickness of your line.

Repeat with the second color, alternating the direction of the wave pattern.

Lastly, finish up with your last color, reverting to the original wave direction 

 Yay!  You’re done!

Let dry for 24 hours and then heat set with an iron.  To do this, set the towel paint side down onto a few sheets of newspaper.  Run a hot iron (I use the setting for cotton) over the back of the towel for at least two minutes.  Definitely make sure not to use any steam!  The goal is to keep the paint as hot as possible without scorching the fabric.  If you’ve never heat-set fabric paint before, you might find the tips on this page helpful.

You’ll want to wait at least a few days before washing, but you can use it in the meantime!  I can’t wait to complete this set, it’s going to be just the perfect functional gift for the cabin!