Tangled Thread - Tips, Trick and Tutorials in Sewing & Stitching

how-to of the day: paw-print ornaments

by Chloe on December 15th, 2007

I share my life with three mischievous dogs who I love dearly :-)  I like have ornaments on the tree that remind me of my pets and so I created this project.

If you’re not comfortable using paint on your dog’s paws, just use a small paint brush and paint your own version of pawprints.  If you are going to print using paint & your dog, make sure your paint is non-toxic.  You’ll be scrubbing it off right away, but why take the risk!  Non-toxic paint will have a seal of approval from the ASTM on it somewhere.

Just a reminder - the photos & instructions are my personal property & are not to be copied or re-posted!

I’m using 3 inch squares of fabric for my smallish dog.  If you have a larger dog I’d suggest using a larger square of fabric.  Fuse heavy-weight interfacing to the back.

I’d recommend making several squares - you don’t want to run out :-)  You’ll also need your paint & a paint brush (and not shown here, a small foam or paper plate).

Round up a helper and put lots of newspaper down. Seriously - do you really want to end up with paint-y pawprints all over?

Put a dollop of paint onto the plate and use the paintbrush to create a thin, even coat all over the plate.  Place your dog’s paw into the paint & then gently press it onto the fabric.  It took me three tries to get this print:

Let it dry overnight and I’ll show you how I used the print tomorrow :-)

Share This

Related Stories

how-to of the day: paw-print ornaments, part two
how to of the day: using bleach pens to print on fabric, part two
how-to of the day: easy embroidered felt Easter egg ornaments
how-to of the day - sun printing on fabric
how-to of the day: using bleach to print fabric

POSTED IN: How To, holiday projects, techniques, tutorials