Potato Stamp Tea Towels: Easy & Inexpensive DIY Gifts

Tea towels make great and useful DIY gifts. This fun and easy potato stamp tea towel project turns out beautiful flour sack dishtowels!

Christmas Tea Towels: white tea towel stamped with green Christmas trees sitting on tile

Hello! I’ve been painting up a storm over here, and I’ve got some great gift projects for you. Now if I’m going to make gifts, they need to be useful, pretty, and personal. And I think these modern potato stamped tea towels fit the bill! They’ll make great gifts for teachers, neighbors, co-workers, friends, and more! And they’ll look gorgeous tied together with some simple ribbon and a gift tag.

I remember making a potato stamp to decorate napkins for Thanksgiving one year when I was a kid. And I thought why not try potato stamped- tea towels? And then I thought why not try throw pillow covers too? Now I’m getting ahead of myself. That will be another post.

potato stamp tea towel Supplies

plain tea towels (I used these inexpensive towels from Amazon)
iron & ironing board (optional)
potatoes- large russets work well
cutting board
pairing knife
stencil brush
acrylic paint
fabric painting medium
paper plate

how to make a potato stamp

First, let’s cut the potato stamp. You might want to have a few potatoes on hand in case you need a re-do.

1. Cut your potato in half

2. Draw a simple shape

I’m drawing a very basic tree shape on my potato.

3. Cut your shape

potato being carved into a potato stamp Christmas tree with a pairing knife. Sitting on a wood cutting board

4. Cut the edges off the potato

Trim off the outside edges of the potato surface (see photo above) so they don’t accidentally add extra paint to your tea towel.

how to stamp a tea towel

1. wash your tea towels

I have tried it both ways, but I think you’ll be happier with the results if you wash and dry them before stamping. This way they have a chance to shrink before you add paint. I also ironed them after they came out of the dryer.

Use your acrylic paint and mix in a small amount of fabric medium, using your stencil brush. Fabric medium makes acrylic paint a bit softer and more flexible once it’s dried, which is best when applying it to fabric. It is possible to go without- your paint will just be sort of stiff.

green acrylic paint being poured onto a paper plate

green acrylic paint and fabric medium in a compartment of a paper tray, ready to be mixed together

dark green arcrylic paint and fabric medium in a section of a paper tray, being swirled together with a paintbrush

2. paint

Use the stencil brush to dab the paint onto the surface of the stamp. You want an even amount of paint covering the whole stamp.

Christmas tree potato stamp being dabbed with green paint using a stencil brush

3. stamp

Press the stamp down firmly on your tea towel surface and pull it straight back up. You might want to test it on paper or a paper towel before using it on the real thing to be sure everything is just right. I often have to make a few adjustments in the amount of paint I’m using, and sometimes to the stamp itself.

hand holding a potato stamp, ready to print it on a white tea towel

Repeat as many times as you like to create a pattern on your tea towel. You can make simple patterns with triangles, lines, or any shape you choose. Let them dry completely, and you’re done!