How to Make Fern Prints on Fabric with Real Fern Leaves

Fern prints made from real fern leaves can be used to create beautiful patterns on fabrics and fancy paper. If done correctly, a fern or leaf print on a shirt can sustain many washings and retain the brightness of the original leaf color. If you have a garden full of ferns, you already have most of the materials to make this craft. Some other things you'll need are butcher paper or blank newsprint, a hammer or mallet, and items made of cotton or canvas fabric.

First select some fern leaves that are somewhat juicy, but no more than a millimeter or 1/32 of an inch thick. Leaves with too much fuzz don't work well for this project. You may need to hydrate your potted ferns a few days before making the prints.

Once you have fresh fern fronds, place a layer of paper over a flat, sturdy surface, and place the fabric on top of the paper. If making the fern print on one side of a shirt, place the paper inside the shirt so that the fern pattern does not bleed through.

Place the fresh leaf on the fabric with the greener side down. Then place a piece of paper over the leaf.

Now, tap the leaf with the hammer until the juices start to bleed and stain the fabric (and paper). Don't be afraid to whack the leaf pretty hard. The more you press it into the fabric, the better the print will be. You can also try a rolling pin, although you will get better results with a hammer.

Repeat the process with more leaves until you achieve the desired fern print pattern. Let the fabric dry completely over a 24-hour period.

Once dried, put the fern printed fabric in the dryer on the highest setting to set the stain. You may need to add other clothes or sheets to the dryer to create a fuller load (check your dryer's manual), but do not add any wet clothes.

When the fern print is set, the shirt or skirt will be ready to wear. To make entire bolts of unique fern printed fabric, purchase king-sized white cotton sheets.