Some people collect shoes, I collect dish towels. I love a simple vintage inspired dish towel, which explains my latest obsession with Iron On Transfer Dish Towels. I’ve done iron on transferred book bags or even Halloween Treat Bags, but now my attention is dish towels!
Iron on Transfer Dish Towels
Actually I may also have an obsession with iron on transfers. I love them. Last month I did a guest post for Tatertots and Jello and showed off my vintage Santa iron on pillow. I was so sad to put it away.
I’ve been visiting my friend Karen’s site, The Graphics Fairy several times a week finding inspiration for my next project. She makes it so easy to download the image for whatever you have up your sleeve. After seeing so many adorable farm animals that I loved, I figured new dish towels were in my future. I love the large cotton White Flour Sack Dish Towels
that I find at our local Fred Meyer and then of course the 10 dish towels I had picked up at IKEA for $.99 cents. They are perfect for this type of project.
How to Make Iron On Transfer Dish Towels
- Gather your supplies. I love the Avery
iron transfer papers or Jolees. The photo shoes Jolees and a pillow cover from my pillow project I did for Tatertots and Jello. - Find your image (found mine on The Graphics Fairy) and print on the non glossy side of the paper. Read the package directions.
- Trim the images.
- Lay image face down on the towel where you want the image to appear.
- Using a hot iron, no steam, firmly pressing as you iron…….I think I iron for about 60 seconds. But I’d check the package directions. Also, if your fabric has any polyester, like the pillow covers did, you have to watch that you don’t “burn and yellow” the fabric.
- Let cool completely, then gently peel the paper away from the fabric. Taha!
iron transfer papers or Jolees. The photo shoes Jolees and a pillow cover from my pillow project I did for Tatertots and Jello.
If you look closely, you can see the iron on transfer plasticy border. If you let your image cool all the way before peeling the paper away, it makes the border less noticeable. It also helps to wash it. No cracking has occurred on mine.
I don’t think you can get a cuter more vintage inspired towel anywhere than this pig one! The IKEA TELKA Red and White Dish Towels are great! I love the red ticking down the sides. I was concerned about the texture at first, but it didn’t seem to affect the transfer at all.
I love them all! Don’t you?
I think I may try a graphic shape or design next. The possibilities are endless really.
What would you want on your dish towel?
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amber whitehead says
They turned out great !
Kim says
Thank you I love them!!
Leigh Anne Wilkes @YourHomebasedMom says
I love those dish towels from Ikea and have a ton of them! Love the transfer idea too – totally trying it!
Kim says
We should have an Iron On Transfer Party!!!
Cherie C says
I was thinking it would be so pretty at Christmas to make pillows and things with Iron on transfers. I was going to make throw pillows out of plain fabric and just put Silent Night on one then Holy Night on the other. I think that would look so cute on a couch.
Nicole says
I absolutely LOVE these towels! Thanks for the tutorial … now I have to go get my crafty on 😀
Kim says
Seriously so easy and make such a difference! Good luck!
Jen says
I absolutely love this idea! Thanks for sharing. These would make great gifts.
Kim says
Thank you so much! They WOULD make great gifts and EASY!!!
Barbara H Sullivan says
This looks easy & simple way I like it,lol Thank’s Kim
Emily says
Such a cute idea! These would make awesome personalized gifts!
Kim says
Yes! So perfect for DIY gifts!
Peggy Kuhn says
Love it!! Can’t wait to do one. Thanks for sharing this!
Kim says
You’ll be hooked!
Tammi says
I love these! Such a great idea for customized towels. I can never find a set that I like and goes with my kitchen décor. Now I can create my own. Definitely pinning!
Kim says
Exactly! I love using designs I find.
Desiree @ The36thAvenue says
Kim, I love this project! I am featuring it tomorrow 🙂
Kim says
Thank you Desi!
Heather @ French Press says
I LOVE dish towels, and these are just adorable – thanks for the great idea
Shannon says
Oh my goodness your towels are so cute!! Love the graphics you chose – perfect for the kitchen! I made some of these a few years ago for my mom, using Jessie Willcox Smith images & she absolutely loved them. Thanks for sharing! Makes me want to make some more for myself! 🙂
Shannon
Kim says
Thank you. I’ve never tried Jessie Wilcox Smith’s images, I’ll have to look her up.
Karen Watson says
How did I miss these?!! These are adorable Kim, I love them!!! Thanks so much for the mention! We put our house up for sale last week, so I’m a little out of the loop these days, while I focus on that.
ashley hamrick says
Love this idea!!! Had thought about it, but you’ve made it look so easy! Definitely going to try this soon, Thanks for posting!
Shannon [Our Home Notebook] says
So love these! And I’m in need of some new, pretty dish towels:-)
keri ulrich says
Hi Kim. Can you help me? I have done several of the transfer iron-ons and I just love all the possibilities. However, the last few that I have done I used a “home decorator” fabric, which I believe is cotton. I had trouble getting the transfer to completely adhere. Perhaps there is a sizing on the fabric? Would pre-washing the fabric solve the problem? Thanks for any help in determining where I’m going wrong!
Kim says
Keri, I’ve only used cotton dish towels, pillow covers etc.. I’ve never had any issues. I would call the help number on the package or email the brand you’re using, they would have a better understanding. Sorry I couldn’t help. If you do talk to them, I’d love to know what they say.