Aprons, dish towels, tablecloths, and natural fabrics that we often use in the kitchen, but to which we would like to give a second life. Recycling starts right here, with a creative idea that uses waste materials we would never have thought of using for painting or printing. This is the case with lemons: a citrus fruit that we all have in our refrigerators and that we usually throw away after squeezing. But what if we reused it as a printing template to personalize your apron or add color to a simple dish towel?
If, for example, you have a stain that won't come out of a fabric, this can be a creative way to camouflage it! We used our hemp fabrics, but cotton or any other natural fabric can also be used. Here is a simple idea that is easy to do at home, using eco-friendly materials such as lemons, in a few simple steps.
The materials you need to make lemon prints
Hand painting can be fun, and if you use eco-friendly fabrics and recycled materials, you're also helping the environment! Hand-painted towels, tea towels, and aprons can also be a personalized, handmade gift to surprise a friend with. After all, you don't need much to make them, just a little imagination and a lot of creativity! The materials needed for this fabric painting are:
- cotton, hemp, linen, or other natural fiber fabric;
- newspaper or something to protect your work surface;
- a paper plate or tray for painting;
- a large chef's knife;
- kitchen knife;
- cutting board;
- lemons;
- stencil brush;
- acrylic paint;
- fabric medium;
What are the steps for printing on fabric using a lemon as a stencil?
Now that we have seen the materials needed for printing on fabric, all that remains is to understand the basic steps for doing so. These are just suggestions, but you are free to give free rein to your creativity by modifying and adapting them as you wish!
- Cut the lemon in half and squeeze it
Using a large chef's knife, cut the lemon in half, making sure to make a single clean cut. When squeezing lemons for use in cooking, remember to be careful not to break them! To use them as a printing template, it is always best to choose citrus fruits with thicker white pith.
- Carve the surface of the lemon
Using the smaller cutting knife, make a few incisions in the lemon: simply remove the pulp from the cut surface, keeping the membranes separating the sections of the citrus fruit intact, as this will give you a distinct lemon print. Immediately afterwards, mix the paint well with the fabric medium and a little water. This is useful as it improves the workability of the fabric and the adhesion of the colors to the fabric: it ensures that the paints adhere to the fabric and that the print is long-lasting.
- Paint the lemon and do some tests
How much paint should you use for printing? Nothing Don't worry, with a little practice you'll figure out the right amount of paint to use on the lemon. To apply it, we suggest dabbing with the brush, just as you would when painting a stencil. Immediately afterwards, before moving on to printing on the fabric, it is necessary to do some tests on a paper napkin until you get the desired result. It is also useful to apply different pressures on the lemon when stamping to compare the results obtained.
- Stamp the fabric and dry
It doesn't matter whether it's a towel, tablecloth, apron, or dishcloth. Just lay it out on a sheet of newspaper and start stamping using the cut lemon and paint. For example, we started at the edge, then continued the design from there, reapplying the paint to the lemon every one or two stamps. Immediately after you have finished painting, it is important to hang the cloth up to dry.
Now that you know how to make a print using eco-friendly fabrics and your favorite colors with a simple lemon, all that's left to do is experiment! It's not just lemons: oranges or grapefruits can also be used for this painting technique. You can also have fun playing with different sizes, for example, by printing a quarter of a lemon instead of half to create the shape of a wedge. In short, you're spoiled for choice!
To work and paint comfortably with paints, lemons, and fabrics, your kit must include the Roundneck work apron. Practical and lightweight, it is comfortable and perfect for painting: if a few brushstrokes of color remain on the fabric, it will be even more original!
