Step-by-step
Step 1
First, wash the mats to remove any finishing agents in the fabric and leave them to dry. Print out the template and gather all your materials together. In our example, we used a black edding 4500 textile marker, but if you prefer something brighter, simply pick your favourite colour.
Step 2
It’s a good idea to place a piece of cardboard underneath the placemat to stop the ink going through the fabric and onto the table. Keep the template as your sample pattern within easy view. Using the textile marker and the ruler, draw straight, evenly-spaced lines, as shown in our photo. Leave out the horizontal lines to start with and leave a rectangle either side of the centre completely blank.
Step 3
Following the template, now fill in the empty spaces with wavy lines. And voilà, your optical illusion is complete! To heat-fix your design, iron the placemats on the no-steam setting; this makes them wash-resistant up to 60°C.
Products and materials
Other materials
- Placemats in a light-coloured cotton fabric
- Our “Optical illusion placemat” template
- Piece of cardboard as a protective backing
- Ruler
- An iron
Templates
Additional images
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