2024 - Potato printing: instructions and ideas

Potato printing is a technique for quickly reproducing motifs – whether on paper or fabric. We'll show you how it's done!

Potato printing: how does the technology work?

When printing potatoes, a potato is cut in half and a motif or letter is cut into the resulting cut surface. The result is a printing stamp that only needs to be coated with paint and is then suitable for printing on paper or fabric.

Potato printing: materials

Potatoes
Cutting board
Kitchen or craft knife with a short blade
As required: cookie cutter, paper, pencil, scissors
Paper towels
Paper, cardboard, wrapping paper
Fabric (preferably made of natural fibers, such as cotton or linen)
Craft, acrylic or water paint
Textile paint (for printing on fabrics)
brush
Water glass

Potato printing: instructions

Cut a potato in half on a cutting board. One thing is important flat cut surface.
You can either paint a motif on the potato surface and carve it out or carve it directly into the potato. It is best to use the subject cut in from above and then carve all around. Tip: Alternatively, the motif can also be sketched out on paper. Cut it out, turn the paper over (mirrored!) And transfer it to the potato. This technique can be particularly helpful with letters.
Do you want one Cookie cutter use it, push it three-quarters into the potato and remove the area outside the cutter. Then pull off the cookie cutter.
Dab the stamp dry with kitchen paper.
Then with a brush or small sponge the Paint applied thinly to the stamp. With acrylic or craft paint you get an opaque print, while watercolors look more subtle.
Make a few with your potato stamp Proofs on a piece of paper before you get down to business.
Now you can print how you like it: at regular intervals or all over the place, in one color or multicolored – try it various design options with the potato stamp. With one application of paint, you can make several prints, each of which is a little weaker – this also creates an interesting effect.

Potato print on fabric:

You need fabric dye to print on fabric. Before you print the fabric, you should have washed it.
Now print your motif with the potato stamp on your piece of fabric and let everything dry well.
Then you have to fix the fabric dye by placing a thin cloth over it and ironing it over the fabric for three minutes. Now the fabric can even be washed.

Potato printing: tips & tricks

Potato printing is a lot of fun, especially with children: The simple technique is even suitable for the very young – you should only do the carving yourself!
Old T-shirts, cloth bags or tea towels can be embellished with potato print and textile paint to make them unique!
If you want to print multiple colors with one stamp, rinse the potato under running water and then pat it dry before applying the new color.
A larger motif can also be put together from several stamps: Prepare several potato stamps that you use to print one after the other.
If it is a more complex project, you can clean the potato under running water, dry it and then cover it with cling film and store it in the refrigerator.
Apples can also be used as a printing block.
Wallpapers, borders or furniture are embellished with the potato stamp to make them a special eye-catcher.