How to Make Your Own Print Design Bed Sheets

Choose a stencil for the design. Craft stores, art supply shops and some hardware and paint stores carry stencils. They range from tiny, such as a single ladybug or a star, to large, such as a giant sunflower or a big sailboat or paisley shape. Look for varied size alphabet letters for a toddler bed or crib sheets.

Select the color or colors of paint to use in your design. An elegant design might be a single gray fish on unbleached linen sheets. Get whimsical with multicolors for a bunch of balloons or random scatter of flowers. Use paint developed for fabric on the sheets so they will be washable.

Mark the place for the designs with pencil. If your design is a repeat that covers the sheet, lightly mark off the points of a grid to evenly space the stencil designs. There is no need to draw an entire grid on the sheets -- pencil mark will wash out later but avoid using too much of it.

Stretch the sheet to be printed over a protected surface. Working in a garage or on a patio contains any mess, but any open space will do. Cover the area under the sheet with craft paper to keep the paint off the floor.

Pour the fabric paint into a tray, cover the small roller in paint and set the stencil on the area to be painted. Hold the stencil against the sheet with one hand and roll the paint on carefully with the other. Cover the stencil openings completely. Depending on the look you want, you may use thick, opaque paint or let the paint skip or go light in spots for more interest or an aged, faded effect.

Move the stencil to adjacent areas to be painted, until you are finished. The beauty of a single, minimalist design on a top sheet and maybe the pillows is that you are through in no time. A design that covers the sheet or uses multiple colors takes much more time.

Let each color of paint dry before applying the next color for multiple color designs. When you have finished and the sheet is completely dry, train a hairdryer on it to set the paint, following the paint manufacturer's instructions. Or iron the sheet or toss it in the dryer, also following instructions, to set the paint well with heat. The sheet can go right on the bed when you are through. You may want to wash it first to remove pencil marks if there are a lot that show.