Marketplace: New Bella! Dishtowel Design and Colors
New colors and patterns, and a new idea for placing the Bella! design on the dishtowels! They look lovely in the garden, and you can also be envious of my voluminous production of kale this year.
Long ago I saw a gingham dishtowel with a black cat silhouette printed on it and that was the first inspiration for me to put the Bella! design, originally on a tote bag with a few trial flour sack towels, on a regular dish towel. I printed on white until I found some patterned dishtowels at IKEA that would be possible to print on. When I sampled the Bella! design on the white with black Rinnig towels at IKEA I knew it was a hit, and they were very popular. Just like the two-stripe dishtowels I use for “Cats in the Dishtowels,” IKEA didn’t have them in stock for quite some time. When I went back to pick up the two-stripe towels I found not only the black and white Rinnig towels but all these these other colors!
The New Larger Bella! Design
I also decided to try a new size for the Bella! design as you see above. Originally she was about 8″ wide at the bottom of a tri-folded towel. When the towel was open she was tiny down there. But I had this idea to make her extend nearly all the way across the bottom and when it’s tri-folded her face is on the first panel as if she’s peeking around the edge. When you open the towel she’s all there!
The design doesn’t extend all the way across because I liked the size her face was on that first panel, and any larger looked exaggerated. So this is the size she is.
The Original Smaller Bella! Design
But I still like the smaller design too so I’ll continue to offer that design. Above is the original white with black pattern Rinnig towels and also a solid white towel. And below, three small design Bella! towels on red and green patterned towels.
You can see that some of her button eyes look yellow, and indeed they are. 3/8″ or 11mm two hole apple green buttons are difficult to find. Joanne Fabrics had always carried some at least and I also found them on Buttons.com. They closed last August and of course Joann closed this past year. I may need to go with the yellow if more of the color I prefer don’t show up somewhere. That problem doesn’t exist with the larger 5/8″ button.
How I make the dishtowels
I used to screen print these towels but that bit of a hem at the bottom makes it difficult in a process where the surface to be printed has to be smooth and level. Now I’m using heat transfer vinyl with gives me a solid design that easily lays over the hem. It’s washable and durable and because I use my heat press to adhere it it’s basically melded to the towel so it’s permanent.
Then I put a drop of tacky glue on the back of the button, press it in place to make sure it’s positioned in the right place and the button holes are vertical, then when the glue is dry I stitch on the button eyes with quilting thread, a little thicker and stronger than regular thread. It’s difficult to get a photo of me hand-stitching. Below, Sienna wants to know where the tortie towels are. I’ve been considering my “Tortie Girls” on dishtowels for years, and the few tortie tees I have left are really going well at the market, so maybe now is the time.
About the Bella! design
This design is totally inspired by Bella and her big round green eyes with buttonhole-thread pupils. In 2021, I think she was on this table where I was packing things for a vendor show. I thought I’d put some towels there in front of her and asked her if she’d like to interact with them. This is what she did!
And this design is based on one of my daily sketches, from September 2014, shortly after Bella arrived here.
What would I be doing with my life if not for my cats?
Where to purchase the dishtowels
You can find them on the Hand printed Art, Housewares and Apparel page on Portraits of Animals. If you click the design photos above you’ll find that each is linked directly to the product page for that design.
Marketplace
Sienna reluctantly poses with the dishtowels.
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It’s all done under the close and careful supervision of my studio cats!
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All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
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Those are so cute!
Thanks! Bella won the Farmers Market yesterday and lured all the people into my tent!
Go Bella!!!
Very pretty.
Thanks so much, Ellen!