Make a Cute Valentine’s Day Dish Towel

0

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I wanted to make sure I had something in our home that signaled we celebrate love. I’ve been holding on to an old sweatshirt for a DIY project for awhile. I decided to make it into a cute Valentine’s Day dish towel, which I could paint with my toddler.

Photograph by Tirzah Weiskotten

Supplies:

  • Old sweatshirt or t-shirt (for a decorative towel) or an old dish towel (to use for real)
  •  Scissors
  • Paper and painter’s tape
  • Fabric paint (mine says “Machine Washable” so make sure you check the label. I will likely wash my kitchen towel separately for it’s first wash)
  • Paint brushes
  • Water and paper towels

Time to make:

  • A few hours because you’ll need to wait for the paint to dry.

Instructions

Step 1: Measure a dish towel against the shirt. Cut out a rectangle shape (doesn’t have to be perfect!). I used the trunk of the shirt, with one seam being the top fold and cutting off the other seam to create the opening.

The stained side is the back of my towel. We painted the other side which wasn’t stained.

Step 2: When I think about cute Valentine’s Day dish towels, I think cute animals and hearts. Draw a shape on the paper to make a stencil. I went with an owl shape, since my son is obsessed right now, but you can choose a shape that works for you. Tape down the paper with painter’s tape. Since I was working with my toddler, I taped everything down. But if you’re doing this project with older kids, you may not need to even use a stencil.

Photograph by Tirzah Weiskotten

 

Step 3: Paint! I had my toddler paint the shape.

Tip: If you want your toddler to use just one color, do not give him the option of more than one! I had intended the owl to be a solid red, but he decided to mix the red and white colors I had poured out. Instead of focusing on my original vision, I enjoyed watching his creativity unfold.

Photograph by Tirzah Weiskotten

Step 4: Let the paint dry completely before you peel off the painter’s tape and add details.

Photograph by Tirzah Weiskotten

 

Step 5: Add details as desired.  I added some features on the owl, which my son insists is actually a cat. I also added hearts! Pretty close to what I think makes a cute Valentine’s Day dish towel!

Photograph by Tirzah Weiskotten

 

Step 6: Hang in your kitchen and enjoy!

Photograph by Tirzah Weiskotten
My cat admires my son’s artwork.
Previous articleMom Needs a Break! 3 Tips to Get a Mom’s Night Out
Next articleLet’s Talk About Sex (after) Baby
Tirzah Weiskotten
Tirzah is a digital project manager and has two adorable little boys. She moved to DC in 2000 to attend The Catholic University of America—and to get away from the cold weather that plagues her home state, Maine. Before becoming a mom, Tirzah played kickball, volunteered for the Smithsonian, and was a ball girl for the Nationals. Now that she's a mom, she explores DC in new ways by checking out library storytimes and museum playrooms and going on the occasional hike with her husband and sons. Likes: traveling, crafting, The Bachelor. Dislikes: unread emails, chores, black jelly beans