Potato printed tote bag

If you're very craftsy and have canvas laying around, you can of course sew it from scratch, but I got my own from the craft store (for maybe about an Euro/Dollar a piece).



You will need:

• a blank canvas tote bag (it's always better to wash it first, to remove any residue that may block the dyes)
• fabric dyes (I used silk dyes that are very runny)
• a potato or two
• small knife 
• used canning jar lids (or disposable plates)
• a brush
• scrap fabric in similar color as your tote
• a piece of sturdy paper (like from calendar or even a cardboard box) the size of your tote

First, choose your motif and draw it on a piece of paper. Keep it as simple as posible at first, you can get more creative as you gain confidence. I carved a leaf and a fish, I have no idea why:) Well, they were pretty easy to carve out of the potato, and I could get quite creative with them.

Some other ideas what to carve out of the potato:

• a heart
• a flower
• a clover
• a square
• a circle
• a triangle
• a swiss cross
• an x (or turn around your swiss cross for 90°)

Grab a potato and cut it in half. With a small sharp knife, "draw" your motif into the cut side of the potato. If you're satisfied, deepen your design with the knife. Now carefully cut into the potato from the side and remove all that is not your motif. Now your leaf/fish/xy will emerge from the potato. Hoorey! You can now add some details, using a knife or a small screwdriver. (Such as leaf veins and fish eyes in my case.)

Pour a little bit of your dye into a lid and dip your potato in it. Stamp on scrap fabric first to see how it behaves. If you're satisfied, you may now stamp your tote! (Now would also be a good time to invite your kids to "help"). You can make several prints with just one "dip". Keep in mind that the first print will be much stronger than the subsequent, and maybe you'll only like them in a certain opacity ( in that case, use your scrap fabric to adjust the opacity).

You can print with a diffrenent colored dye on your existing prints after they dry a little, to get a more textured look as you can see on these photos. When the dye is completely dry, iron your tote on reverse side (or through a kitchen towel), for aproximately 3 minutes. The dyes are now fixed and you can wash your one of kind tote bag in the washing machine!

Some other ideas for what to print with your potato stamp:

• wrapping paper
• birthday cards
• gift tags
• business cards 
• coffe cup sleeve
• fabric napkins
• pillow cases
• a t-shirt