HANDWRITTEN RECIPE KITCHEN TOWELS (2024)

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By: madincrafts|21 Comments

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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.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Amy Anderson says
August 4, 2015 at 1:04 pm

I LOVE this project – we have tons of handwritten recipes in my family and my mom would love this as a gift!
Reply
- madincrafts says
  August 4, 2015 at 3:48 pm
  
  Thanks! I know it's a gift I would like to get, but I'm probably biased. 🙂
  Reply
Dawn says
August 10, 2015 at 3:44 pm

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
- madincrafts says
  August 10, 2015 at 10:35 pm
  
  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
  - Virginia says
    September 26, 2018 at 5:46 am
    
    If you printer does not have a reverse print feature you can print to a transparency and then use the wrong side of the transparency to print to the fabric.
    Reply
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jr says
August 14, 2015 at 10:29 am

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
- madincrafts says
  August 14, 2015 at 4:56 pm
  
  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
Teresa says
December 11, 2015 at 3:23 pm

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
Diana says
November 3, 2016 at 1:22 pm

What would be a good photo editing program?
Reply
- madincrafts says
  November 3, 2016 at 8:34 pm
  
  I just use PicMonkey, but anything with a reverse function would work.
  Reply
Joy Kramer says
December 20, 2016 at 8:53 am

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
Carol says
January 10, 2017 at 3:26 pm

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
- madincrafts says
  January 13, 2017 at 3:15 pm
  
  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
Cheryl Hangsleben says
February 14, 2017 at 1:53 am

Does it matter whether it is ink jet or laser toner ink?
Reply
- madincrafts says
  February 14, 2017 at 12:29 pm
  
  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

FAQs

How do you transfer handwritten recipes into tea towels? ›

To hand-trace your recipe tea towel, follow these steps:

Scan and increase the image sizes of your recipes.
Print the recipe onto 11 by 14-inch paper.
Tape your recipe to the back of your flour sack so it won't move while tracing.
Carefully trace the handwriting onto the tea towel with your marker.

Apr 27, 2023

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.

Tell Me More ›

How do I organize my kitchen hand towels? ›

The best way to fold kitchen towels is to fold them in half crosswise and then fold them into thirds if needed for storage, with the folded edge facing you when storing. This ensures the towels are neatly organized and easily accessible in your closet or drawer.

What is the best fabric for homemade kitchen towels? ›

Towels made of natural fibers are the most absorbent, according to experts. Cotton waffle blends are soft and strong and can stand up to sopping-wet dishes.

Know More ›

What is the best fabric to make kitchen towels? ›

Cotton – The best kitchen towels are made from tightly-woven cotton because they are absorbent, soft, and capable of soaking up large amounts and withstanding hundreds of wash cycles without losing its strength or durability. Soft cotton also prevents smudging and watermarks with little effort.

Show Me More ›

What kitchen towels do chefs use? ›

Zeppoli Classic Kitchen Towels

These towels look, feel, and function like the ones preferred by most chefs in professional kitchens. They're sturdy enough to take heavy use and thick enough to wrap around a hot pan handle.

Learn More Now ›

How do you save old handwritten recipes? ›

If you have a scanner you can simply scan the recipes into the computer. If you don't have access to a scanner, you can take pictures of your recipes using a digital camera or your smartphone.

Show Me More ›

How do you transfer a handwritten recipe onto a plate? ›

Cut out the paper copy and a similar size sheet of graphite paper. Layer the graphite paper behind the photocopy of the recipe, position the darkest side face down on the plate, and tape it into place. Using a pen or sharp pencil, carefully trace over the recipe.

View Details ›

How do you transfer a handwritten recipe to a plate? ›

If you don't have a scanner, you can scan at an office store, UPS store, or Walgreens/CVS. There are also scanner apps you can load on your phone, such as Adobe Scan, which make a scan out of a picture. A photo of the recipe will also work.

See Details ›