How to Pound Flowers Onto Fabric

You can use flower pounding to create beautiful designs on fabric. Because flower pounding is a dyeing process, you must purchase pretreated fabric or treat the fabric yourself. The following will show you how to prepare the fabric, and then pound your colorful flowers onto it.

Things You'll Need

• White or light-colored fabric
• Washing machine
• Laundry detergent
• Large container
• Alum (aluminum sulfate)
• Washing soda
• Fresh flowers
• Hammer
• Masking tape
• Thin, black permanent marking pen

Instructions

Preparing the Fabric

1. Choose a white or light-colored piece of fabric for this craft. You need a pure fabric, 100% cotton, 100% silk or 100% linen fabric.

2. Wash the fabric with regular laundry detergent in hot water. Add 2 tablespoons of washing soda to the laundry. Run the rinse cycle 3 or 4 times to completely remove the washing soda from the fabric.

3. Remove the wet fabric from the washing machine and place it into a large container. Add a 1/4-cup of alum (aluminum sulfate) and 2 cups of hot water for every yard of fabric you use.

4. Stir the mixture until the alum is completely dissolved. Allow the water to cool, which may take a few hours.

5. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of washing soda in a separate bowl for each yard of fabric into about 1/2-cup of hot water.

6. Add this washing soda mixture to the alum mixture with the fabric. Stir the mixture. It may fizz.

7. Soak the fabric in this mixture overnight or for at least 8 hours. Rinse well, wring out and hang to dry. Iron the fabric while it is still slightly wet.

Pounding the Flowers

1. Choose a flower you would like to put onto the dry, treated fabric. Use petals or the entire flower.

2. Place the flower, pretty side down, onto the fabric. Cover the entire flower with masking tape.

3. Turn the fabric over and pound it with a hammer on a flat surface. Watch as the color of the flower bleeds through the fabric.

4. Turn the fabric back over and remove the tape.

5. Add more flower patterns to your fabric. Add leaves to your flower pattern by pounding the leaves exactly as you did the flowers.

6. Outline each flower and leaf with a thin black permanent marking pen if you like.

7. Frame your fabric or laminate it to use as a bookmark or as a placemat.

Tips & Warnings

• Purchase washing soda in the laundry detergent aisle of a grocery store or department store. Purchase the alum (aluminum sulfate) in the baking aisle of a grocery store or at a store that specializes in art supplies.

• You can also purchase fabric that is pre-treated for dyeing.

• Do not wash your flower pounded fabric. This is a piece of art to be displayed not to be worn and washed.