HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (2024)

You are here: Home / Crafts / Home Decor / HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS

By: madincrafts|21 Comments

Please note: This page may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and choose to make a purchase from the partnership site, I will earn a commission. Thank you for supporting Mad in Crafts!

Unless you have been hiding under a rock somewhere, chances are you have heard at least one side of the brouhaha surrounding new Common Core education standards. I am not going to get into a debate over its merits and faults here, but I am going to talk about one component that bums me out: 86ing handwriting. With that idea in mind, I used some of my family’s handwriting and turned t into handwritten recipe kitchen towels. If you have a printer at home, it is very easy to do.

Because of the increasing prevalence of digital media in our lives, handwriting may not be as important in the future as it once was, but that does not mean it is without use. I am not even referring to the cognitive benefits that are gained when children write with their hands ( and there are lots of them). I’m talking about the sentimental and historical losses we suffer when people stop writing things out by hand.

Which would you rather stumble upon: a thumb drive of emails that your grandparents sent to one another or a stack of handwritten love letters? Which has more historical significance: an early printed copy of a famous document or a handwritten draft? Which makes a better family heirloom: a website of family recipes or paper recipe cards written by family member themselves?

HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS

How Do You Make Handwritten Recipe Towels

1. Get yourself some inexpensive cotton flour sack towels. You can usually find a package for a few dollars at the grocery store.

2. Make sure the towel is ironed out completely flat and that the surface underneath is free of wrinkles too. Any unevenness in the surface of the fabric will affect the transfer.

3. Print the recipes out on heat transfer paper. REMEMBER TO REVERSE THE IMAGE!

4. Iron the image onto the towel according to the directions that come with your brand of transfer paper.

5. Carefully remove the paper backing to reveal the transferred recipe.

I still have the original copies of these recipes tucked safely away, but now I can display them in my kitchen as well. They coordinate nicely with the framed recipes already hanging on my walls.

What Should You Do With These Towels?

You can make a set of handwritten recipe towels for yourself or to give as part of a thoughtful wedding or housewarming present. For my towels, I chose to leave them fairly minimal, but you could add trim, embroidery, or fabric paint to make them even more special.

I want my kids to have the a little bit of my history in writing too, so I sat down and hand-wrote some of the recipes I am most known for. I also want my kids to have the sentimental and historical record of our family that is preserved in handwriting AND I want them to be able to pass their own written legacy on to their kids as well. And that means having my kids practice handwriting in school and at home.

You might like these other DIYs:

HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (6)

MARBLED RESIN TRAY

HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (7)

VINTAGE MASON JAR BIRD FEEDER

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply

  1. HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (8)Amy Anderson says

    I LOVE this project – we have tons of handwritten recipes in my family and my mom would love this as a gift!

    Reply

    • HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (9)madincrafts says

      Thanks! I know it's a gift I would like to get, but I'm probably biased. 🙂

      Reply

  2. HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (10)Dawn says

    I’m not sure what you mean by reversing this ? I don’t have a printer, so I’ll have to take this some place…do I buy the transfer paper at a craft store such as HOBBY LOBBY or MICHAEL’S . .? These will be gifts….what a great idea…..Thanks 🙂

    Reply

    • HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (11)madincrafts says

      You will need to use a photo editing program to create a mirror image of the recipe. When you iron the image onto the towel, it will reverse again — leaving you with the correct image on your towel. I hope that make more sense!

      Reply

  3. HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (13)jr says

    The cognitive research on the benefits of handwriting writing demonstrate that printing is as effective as cursive while notetaking for the retention of newly acquired information. Those that lament cursive should read 100 5 page essays in an evening. You might very well change your mind.

    Reply

    • HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (14)madincrafts says

      I don't think that the BIC campaign is limited to cursive, but instead wants to keep all handwriting in schools. I was a high school English teacher, so I feel your pain when it comes to correcting. I still feel that handwriting is an invaluable skill that I hope my children don't lose.

      Reply

  4. HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (15)Teresa says

    Saw some earlier comments about the transfer using computer ink would not be permanent after washing. I had the same question so did a quick google search and found this site. I’m not promoting their products at all. Just using their information about the heat transfer as reference only and wanted to share.

    I love this idea and so agree it is important to preserve our heritage whenever we can. Thanks for sharing this project.

    Reply

  5. HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (16)Diana says

    What would be a good photo editing program?

    Reply

    • HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (17)madincrafts says

      I just use PicMonkey, but anything with a reverse function would work.

      Reply

  6. HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (18)Joy Kramer says

    This is a great idea! I probably won’t motivate myself but my sisters would probably enjoy seeing my grandmother’s writing in a recipe on a towel. Her writing was awful (yes, yes, it was cursive, but…) but very distinguishable to all of us. I learned how to read any handwriting by reading her letters and cards–and recipes. Thanks for the clever idea. Who knows, I may do it.

    Reply

  7. HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (19)Carol says

    I think this is a wonderful idea. Could you be more specific as to what type of heat transfer paper you used? Some of them are very heavy and leave the whole space on the fabric. Yours looks like it only transferred the writing, not the whole area.

    Reply

    • HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (20)madincrafts says

      I believe for this project I used the iron on transfers from OnlineLabels.com. It’s also a good idea to trim the transfer down to just the area you want to transfer onto the towel. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  8. HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (21)Cheryl Hangsleben says

    Does it matter whether it is ink jet or laser toner ink?

    Reply

    • HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (22)madincrafts says

      Check the directions on your brand of iron-on transfers. Mine worked just fine with an ink jet printer, but it’s better to check than be sorry!

      Reply

HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (2024)

FAQs

How do you print a handwritten recipe on a towel? ›

Here are some directions for your convenience:
  1. Scan the recipe. ...
  2. Place one Heat'n Bond EZ Print Transfer Sheet in the printer. ...
  3. When you have a satisfactory copy of your recipe on the Heat'n Bond sheet, use a pair of scissors to cut away the excess material surrounding the words.
  4. Iron the flour cloth towels.

How many kitchen hand towels do you need? ›

An optimal number of towels for your kitchen should be the amount that you use between laundry days. If you use a few towels every time you prepare dinner and only wash once a week, you should have around 14. If you use one, keep seven.

What kitchen towels are best for infusible ink? ›

I used a microfiber towel, which works well with Cricut Infusible Ink transfer sheets, sublimation prints, and heat transfer vinyl. You'll need a few colors of those as well, depending on the colors you want to use. Remember to pick a cloth with a high polyester count if you want to use Infusible Ink.

What is the difference between hand towels and kitchen towels? ›

A bathroom hand towel is typically just used for drying hands, whilst a kitchen hand towel sometimes known as a tea towel, is used for drying dishes, surfaces, and hands.

Can you print something that looks handwritten? ›

Our vLetter Print is a custom handwriting font made from your own printing! The font includes all characters on the US English keyboard, and includes your own signature (one signature and set of characters per product).

What is the best material for kitchen hand towels? ›

Cotton towels, which can come in terry cloth, waffle weave, or flat weave, are great for cleaning up messes or drying hands and dishes. You can get them in just about any color, but if you care about stains on your towels, we recommend getting them in white so they're easy to bleach.

How many towels is enough? ›

The Ideal Number of Towels per Person

Our rule of three for stocking up on sheets also applies to towels. Keep three sets of towels for each individual who lives in your household—one in the wash, one in the closet, and one in use. This ensures there is always a towel in reserve for when you might need it.

What size are kitchen towels in inches? ›

Like most bar mops, they're small: about 15 by 17 inches after washing and drying, whereas standard kitchen towels are about 20 by 30 inches.

What kind of kitchen towels do chefs use? ›

Side towels, the chef's term for simple cotton cloths slightly smaller than a dish towel, are a multipurpose kitchen tool. They're so great, I guarantee that once you start using them, you won't know how you ever did without.

Why do kitchen towels have a loop? ›

One purpose of the hanger loop is to provide a convenient way to hang the towel for drying. The loop is typically more durable than the rest of the towel and can support the weight of the wet towel without tearing.

What are the best kitchen towels for HTV? ›

Mary's Kitchen Flour Sack Towels have proven universally recognized as the best kitchen towels for heat transfer vinyl transfer (HTV).

Is cotton or microfiber better for kitchen towels? ›

Microfiber towels: The best for cleaning.

Microfiber towels are great for general cleanup of virtually any surface. But since they're lint-free and won't streak, you can also use them on stainless steel, chrome, windows, and mirrors; they're also useful for surfaces that require a bit of shine, like polished granite.

What are Swedish kitchen towels? ›

A Swedish Sponge Cloth is a reusable, compostable cloth that can be used to clean in replacement of paper towel and plastic sponges. They are an established must-have in Scandinavia – and for good reason! Swedish Sponge Cloths are the perfect solution to decreasing waste and embracing an environmentally friendly home.

What is a Japanese hand towel? ›

Tenugui are flat-woven cotton cloths that are about 90 cm (2.9 feet) x 35 cm (1.1 feet) in size. Many have elaborate resist-dyed or printed patterns. During the Edo Period (A.D. 1603-1868), common people started using them as well.

How do you transfer handwriting to fabric? ›

One way to transfer a design onto fabric for embroidery is to use a transfer pen or pencil. You can trace the design onto the fabric, and then embroider over it. Another method is to use transfer paper and a photocopier to create a reversed copy of the design, which can then be placed on the fabric and traced.

Can I print on towels? ›

Screen printing is the most common and widely used method for towel printing. It is also the most cost-effective. Screen printing uses a mesh screen which is stretched tightly over a frame to create an open area where ink is deposited onto a substrate such as fabric or paper.

How do you transfer a picture onto a towel? ›

Generously apply a thick layer of Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium to the FRONT of the image. Apply as much Mod Podge as it takes to basically make the image disappear. Step Two: Once completely covered with Mod Podge, place your image picture-side down onto the dish towel.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Melvina Ondricka

Last Updated:

Views: 5600

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (68 voted)

Reviews: 83% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Melvina Ondricka

Birthday: 2000-12-23

Address: Suite 382 139 Shaniqua Locks, Paulaborough, UT 90498

Phone: +636383657021

Job: Dynamic Government Specialist

Hobby: Kite flying, Watching movies, Knitting, Model building, Reading, Wood carving, Paintball

Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.