Are you stuck what to get someone for Christmas? Wonder what to get the kids teachers for the end of the year? Well I have you sorted! Yes, worry no more!

How about making something that will be super cheap to make that you will be amazed at the outcome and even happier with the fact that you have made a unique and personal gift as well.  I wanted to give the twins teacher a little something but was wondering what to do. I wanted to get them something practical but also personal from the girls. I decided on creating tea towels with the kids hand prints on them.

So how did I make the tea towels?

• I purchased tea towel material from the local sewing shop. I only bought enough for two. As you will see the material I purchased has stripes down the sides. You don’t have to get this type. Pick whatever fits the project you are creating. I paid $15, for the fabric plus the fabric pen.
• I already had fabric paint from an earlier project.
• When I got the fabric I also purchased a fabric pen to write the name of the teacher, the year, class and also to have the kids sign their names.

Process

• I washed the material before use. This made sure to ensure that the tea towel would not shrink after I have done all this work to it.
• Once tea towel material was dry, the kids had fun adding their hand prints to the material. Make sure to have a different colour for each child and to leave enough room top and bottom for your hems and edges.
• I made sure to have a butter knife to allow me to spread the paint evenly over the girls hands. I got the kids to practice on a spare piece of material I did not care for so that they knew how the paint would go on the material and how much was needed to give the right effect.
• Once the fabric paint from the kids hand prints were dry, I added the teachers names, year, and class for the girls. I added their names under the right hand prints and also got the kids to sign their names to each tea towel. It is a bit hard to write with these pens so you might need to help a little person with this.
• Make sure to iron the fabric to set the fabric paint once all dry. The paint needs heat to set it into the fabric.

 

 

The stitch that I used was great for the edges. It looks pretty and as you will see from the below video goes over the edges nicely to make sure it is secure and will last a long time!

I hope this gives you some ideas and tips on how to make a cheap gift for family or your lovely teacher. Have fun and don’t get paint everywhere!

 

Originally published December 11, 2014