Fabric Stamping

Mother Nature has come up with the perfect image for painted borders and trims -- freshly fallen leaves. Scatter their crisp images across towels, fabrics, rugs and walls by brushing leaves with paint and pressing them onto your surface. Whether on fabrics (shown here) or walls, you can master this technique with our detailed how-to instructions.

Decorate a hand towel.

Choose hand towels with a smooth overall surface or a banded edge; heavy texture distorts the stamped pattern. If you can't find such a towel, stamp the pattern onto a strip of muslin or canvas, then sew it to the towel to create a patterned edge.

Edge a throw rug.

Rugs should also have a flat surface; a deep nap will distort the leaf pattern. Because rugs are designed to be absorbent, they soak up paint like it's water. This creates a solid leaf pattern as opposed to the textured look you see on the wall and fabrics.

Make a custom curtain.

Artists' canvas is perfect for transferring the designs onto large areas. Wash medium-weight canvas in warm water and dry it to check shrinkage. Custom-make a curtain or skirt in the size you need, then stamp the leaf design around the edges.

• Achieve the most detailed stamping by using a tightly woven natural fabric such as cotton or linen.
• Remove fabric finishes by machine-washing your fabric in warm water and detergent. Dry the fabric in the dryer. Do not use fabric softeners or dryer sheets.
• Press the fabric, then smoothly tape it to a work surface.
• Select acrylic-based fabric paints (at crafts and fabric stores) for stamping fabric. Check the paint container's label for any special instructions on heat setting.