There’s something special about slowing down and creating something by hand. At Indy Mae Designs, each towel begins long before the ink ever touches the fabric. Every piece is carefully designed, hand-printed, and finished in my studio one at a time. It’s a process rooted in craftsmanship, patience, and a love for simple, beautiful living. 

Here’s a peek behind the scenes into how each Indy Mae Design comes to life.

1. The Inspiration

Every design begins with inspiration from nature, the shape of a leaf, the curve of a bird’s wing, or the quiet patterns found on the ranch around me. I sketch, refine, and adjust until the artwork feels balanced and timeless, something that will bring warmth and meaning into your home.

2. Preparing the Design

Once the design is finalized, it’s printed onto a sheet of transparent film. This film becomes the key to creating the printing screen. It’s a meticulous process that requires precision, every line and detail has to be crisp to ensure a clean print.

3. Burning the Image into the Silk Screen

Next comes one of my favorite steps: preparing the silk screen. I coat the screen with a special light-sensitive emulsion, let it dry, and then carefully place the film with the design over it. When exposed to light, the emulsion hardens everywhere except where the design blocks it, leaving the image “burned” into the screen like a stencil made of light.

4. Hand Printing Each Towel

Now it’s time to print! Each towel is laid carefully onto the printing press. I pour the ink onto the screen and use a squeegee to hand-pull the ink evenly through the screen. This is where the magic happens, the design transfers onto the cotton fabric, one careful pull at a time. Because each towel is printed by hand, every single one carries its own tiny variations, the mark of true craftsmanship.

5. Heat Setting the Ink

Once the printing is done, I use a heat press to set the ink into the fibers of the cotton. This makes the design durable and long-lasting, so your towel can be used, loved, and washed again and again without fading.

6. Finishing Touches

Each towel is then folded, labeled, and packaged with care, ready to ship from my studio to your home. It’s a labor of love from start to finish, and one that I take pride in every single day.

A Celebration of Slow, Handmade Living

In a world that moves fast, creating something by hand feels grounding. Every Indy Mae towel is a little piece of that slower, intentional rhythm made to bring warmth, beauty, and purpose into your everyday routines. 

So the next time you hang one in your kitchen, know that it was made with care, from design to final fold... one pull of the screen at a time.

Thank you for following along behind the scenes with me! Each hand-pulled design carries its own charm and character, and I love knowing they find their way into cozy kitchens and homes all over. 

If you’d like to see the finished pieces, you can explore my collection of hand-printed kitchen and tea towels here.

With love from the studio,

Whitney