Burlap Print Tutorial

Well, hello there! What do you all have planned for today? Any projects for your home or garden? I am writing and enjoying the little amount of sunshine that we have had here in Germany for a long time. I wanted to give you all a tutorial on how to make burlap prints! They are so unique looking and for the amount of time it takes to create one, it will make a lasting impact in your home and, they make lovely gifts. 

The first thing you are going to want to do is gather all your supplies. 

You will need:

- An iron

- Burlap (any burlap will do but your image will show up more on a lighter colored burlap)

- Freezer paper (this can be found at your local grocery store in the plastic bag and aluminum foil section)

Now that you have all your supplies, cut a piece of burlap down to a little bit bigger than the size of printer paper. You'll want to iron the burlap before you print it because, if there is water in your iron, it will make the ink bleed. 

Because the warp and weft of the fabric (the weave) is warped and uneven in burlap fabric, you'll want to pull the strings of the burlap to create a straight edge. The reason you are doing this is to create straight lines in the burlap so when it is printed your frayed edge will be even. Once you have a nice rectangle, cut off the frayed edges (you'll make the decorative frayed edges later). Place your burlap down on your ironing board first (or if like myself you don't have one, a towel on the floor will do), than lay the freezer paper on top of the burlap, shiny side down, to make the burlap stick to it. 

Cut it down to the exact size of printer paper or a tad smaller and your sheet of freezer paper/ burlap is now ready to go!

Place it in your printer burlap side down, or however you are supposed to feed it into your printer, pick an image and print. I get all my vintage images off of the graphics fairy. She has a wonderful selection of free vintage graphics. I edit mine in Picasa which is easier to use than Photoshop and completely free. You can adjust the size of your image, add writing etc. in Picasa to make your print exactly how you want it. 

Once your image is printed, tear some strands off the edges so it frays to the amount you would like (this is to add a bit of a distressed look, not to create the straight edge like before). I like to back my prints with cream colored paper, then mount it on other paper to really make it stand out before framing it!  

Good luck and please feel free to contact me with ANY questions.

The print above is at a guest house of a winery that my parents design team decorated. 

 To see more burlap prints click here.

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