Custom printed heirloom kitchen textiles

Handwritten family favourite recipes can now be commemorated on your kitchen textiles.

With the Brother PrintModa Studio fabric printer, we can hand these heirlooms to the next generation in a fun and crafty way. 

The recipe I used on the potholder came into our family from my grandpa’s godmother and she, in her turn, had it passed down from her mother-in-law, born in 1865, so it’s a very, very old recipe. You can find it here. 

Materials needed 

For one potholder 

• Handwritten recipe: the written part of the recipe should be about 19 x 19cm in size, and the background around it should be 21 x 21cm or maximum 29.7 x 21cm (ie. A4 landscape). You can adjust the size of the recipe on the computer if necessary.
• Fabric for the reverse side of the potholder: cotton or canvas, 21 x 21cm
• Batting: 19 x 57cm (see our notes on the choice of batting below)
• Bias tape: 15cm

For one decorative kitchen towel 

• Handwritten recipe: the written part of the recipe should be about 27 x 42.5cm in size, and the recipe including the background 29.7 x 45cm (portrait layout), so you will have a blank border around the writing of 2 - 3cm. You can adjust the size of the recipe on a computer if necessary.
• Bias tape: 15cm

For both projects 

• Fabric roll for Brother PrintModa

A note on batting 

• We recommend using thermal batting – it’s a thin layer of heat reflective material fused to a thin layer of batting. This gets layered with cotton, wool or polyester batting to create a heat proof and safe ‘sandwich’ for potholders and placemats.
• If you are layering batting or fleece, it is best to perform a heat test so that you don't burn yourself when handling hot baking trays. It’s better to do this temperature check before sewing the potholders by using your triple-folded batting as a potholder. If you can feel the heat through the batting, you should use a thicker or insulated material, or a fourth layer of batting. 

Equipment needed 

• Brother PrintModa Studio fabric printer
• Mobile phone, scanner, or printer with scanning function
• Artspira app on your phone/tablet
• Sewing machine
• Fabric scissors
• Fabric clips
• Pen
• Water-soluble or heat sensitive fabric marker
• Quilting ruler
• Round shape or template, approximately 3cm diameter
• Point turner – or crochet hook, awl etc 

Notes 
Washing: if you want to wash the potholder or towel, follow the instructions that come with the printer for washing printed fabrics

How to 

Step 1 

Install the fabric roll in the PrintModa printer.

Step 2

Scan the recipe and save it as an image file (.jpg), or take a photo of it with your mobile phone. Try to place the written part in the middle of the sheet of paper.

Step 3

Open the Artspira app and click as follows: 

New > Design Editor > Fabric roll A4 > Done > + > Gallery > All photos and select the recipe image from your camera roll. 

Click on the recipe image that now appears in the middle of the workspace and, if necessary, enlarge or minimise and then reposition it with two fingers (thumb and index finger) until the entire workspace is covered.  

Click on OK, then on Done and then decide whether you want to save the image in Artspira or not.  

Tip: if you’re using Artspira on a tablet you can now design with the tablet’s screen in a landscape orientation. 

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Turn the recipe square over and round the corners off on the wrong side of the fabric, using the round template or shape – I used a roll of washi tape. Trim the corners on the drawn lines. Repeat on the fabric square to be used as the back of the potholder. 

Step 7

Fold the batting strip in three to create a square measuring 19 x 19cm. Fix all sides with fabric clips and sew around once. Basting the layers makes it easier to handle the batting piece. Cut any uneven edges with scissors and then mark and round off the corners as you have done with the fabric pieces.   

Step 8

Centre the basted batting piece on the wrong side of the back fabric piece and secure the edges with fabric clips.   

Step 9

On the batting side, draw two diagonal lines connecting the corners and crossing in the centre. Sew through both fabrics along these lines.  

Step 10

Mark more lines on the batting, 4cm apart, parallel to the sewn lines in both directions to create a checkered pattern. Sew along the drawn lines to create a quilted piece.  

Step 11

Peel the backing film off the fabric with the printed recipe. 

Step 12

Fold the bias tape along the centre line and with folds aligned. Sew along the two long sides to secure the folds together. Form the tape into a loop and sew it onto one of the corners of the recipe fabric with the loop facing inwards, towards the recipe.  

Step 13 

Place the quilted back piece and the recipe piece with right sides facing. The loop will lie between the two pieces of fabric. Clip and sew all around through all thicknesses and with a seam allowance of 1cm (the sewing should be on the very edge of the batting). Leave a gap of about 10cm open on one of the sides.  

Step 14

Trim all edges and corners except for the opening. Turn the potholder right side out through the opening, poke all the corners and edges with a point turner and flatten the edges with your fingers. Fold the seam allowances of the opening inward. Secure the edges with fabric clips.  

Step 15

Top stitch all around, close to the edge. Press lightly if the recipe side is creased.  

I also made a printed tea towel to match my potholder. That way I can keep both my mother and grandmother with me in the kitchen. 

Unlike the potholder, I didn’t use any extra fabric for the tea towel. I simply scanned in another recipe, uploaded it into Artspira (following the process in Step 3, but adjusting the height to 450mm) and printed it on the PrintModa Studio fabric roll. 

Once the fabric was printed, I hemmed the two shorter sides (the long side of the PrintModa Studio fabric roll don’t fray, so don’t need finishing) and added a hanging loop made from bias binding at the top. 

Have fun printing, designing and sewing! I can’t wait to see what you make!  

 I can’t wait to see what you make! Remember to tag in Brother on Instagram and Facebook, and myself too!