Potato Printing: The Secret to Boutique-Style Decor at Home

Potato Printing: The Basics

If you are new to this, a tea towel is the perfect first project. Why? It’s a flat, manageable size, and it gives you plenty of practice with repetition.

Let’s get you ready for your first potato stamps!

Supply List

• Firm russet potatoes: Choose the largest, smoothest one you can find. They hold their shape best during carving.
• Acrylic paint: have fun with color!
• Transparent textile medium: The “secret sauce” for creating patterned fabric that will last and stay soft.
• Small brayer (roller) or foam pounce brush
• Sharp knife or X-Acto knife (adult supervision strongly suggested if kids are trying this.)
• Cookie cutters in various shapes
• Paper towels or a lint-free rag
• Large flat palette or plate
• Parchment paper or a drop cloth: Learn from my mistakes…place these under your fabrics to prevent paint from bleeding through to the back.
• Optional: fabric paint (You can use this instead of the acrylic paint and textile medium combo. Just know that the fabric will not be as soft and will have a rougher touch.)

Love tea towels? Donna from An Organized Season created these charming block print tea towels. I love the soft blue-grey patterns sprinkled throughout the fabric. You can see Donna’s project HERE.

The Cookie Cutter Hack

I kept with a tea towel again for my next trick.

This is a brilliant shortcut if you don’t trust your knife skills. Instead of carving with the sharp knife, use metal cookie cutters!

I pressed a flower shape firmly into a fresh potato half. This defined the shape perfectly.

Then, I simply used my knife to trim away the extra potato from around the edge of the potato.

Instant, perfect flower stamp!

I cut flowers in two different sizes and started pressing the blocks in a pattern on the tea towel.

I love using strong colors. Two vibrant pinks did the trick in creating a vibrant cheerful pattern.

Giving each flower a yellow center added tot he brightness and gave the flowers cohesiveness.

I promise I ironed the tea towels. This particular fabric just likes to hold on to its wrinkles.

I call it “artistic wrinkling!

The result? A fun, multi-colored floral print!

I couldn’t resist this sun-dappled photo!

Precision is key when block printing. Tammy at White Lilac Farmhouse created this beautiful butterfly botanical print artwork. Such elegant precision with a charming block print pattern! You can see Tammy’s project HERE.

Create Your Own Custom Pattern

I finally decided to be bold and attempt a blank pillow cover. This is where you create your own unique pattern.

Sometimes, the best way to get an even pattern is to start right in the center. I folded the pillow cover in half and created a crease line to mark the exact middle.

Using a new potato, I cut it in half lengthwise this time.

For this pattern, cut the ends off that potato half, making a large rectangle.

Next, slice a 1/2″ slice of potat lengthwise from that piece. This long “stick” is actualy the first building block for my pattern.

Remember the half moon I mde earlier? I am good at those now!

I took the remaining potato piece and did just a little bit of freehand carving around the edges to refine it.

For the pattern, I took the rectangular “stick” block and printed a straight line down the central crease of the pillow cover in a light blue.

Than, I took the half-moon and blocked that shape on either side of the straight line in a deeper blue color.

I repeated this pattern three times on the front of the pillow.

The new pillow has found a home in the living room. Perfect tucked into one of our blue chairs!

Pillow possibilities are endless! Check out Diane’s block print project at South House Designs. I would love to style this pillow indoors or out! You can see Diane’s project HERE.

Learn from My Mistakes

I made a few mistakes along the way. But you can learn from my newly-found wisdom!

• Practice first! Grab some scrap paper or old fabric and practice. You will get a much better idea of how much paint is on your block, how much pressure you need, and how different shapes interact.
• Always place a piece of paper or extra fabric under your work. I didn’t initially, and discovered that the paint could bleed through the first layer of fabric.
• My biggest advice? Don’t insist on perfection! I actually like seeing hints of the fabric underneath peeking through the paint. Strive for imperfect perfection!

Interested in learning how to carve a rubber block for one-of-a-kind artwork? Michelle at Thistle Key Lane has the tutorial for you. And her project is so pretty! You can see Michelle’s project HERE.