These double-duty napkin/bandana hybrids are an easy and crafty way to add a homemade element to your 4th of July table. Wear them around your neck or fold them up nice and pretty on the barbecue table. They’re as fun to use as they are to make! Find more inspiration in Joy the Baker Magazine Summer 2022, on sale now!
Here’s what you’ll need to make these shaving cream-dyed bandanas:
- 2 cans shaving cream (foam, not gel), I used Barbisol
- A large rimmed baking sheet pan
- Liquid fabric dye, I used Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow Specialty Paints
- Eye droppers or plastic bottles with tips
- A toothpick or chopstick
- Plain white, 100% cotton bandanas measuring 22×22-inches
- A ruler or plastic bench scraper
- An iron
To create these bandana napkins, smooth shaving cream over the entirety of your large rimmed baking sheet. Use a ruler or bench scraper to smooth.
I found it easiest to work on a counter covered with butcher paper so I didn’t have to worry about dye on the countertop. This is also great to do outdoors!
Using an eyedropper or squeeze bottles with fabric dye, dot your chosen dye colors across the top of the smooth shaving cream. Use a toothpick or chopstick to swirl the colors around. Use any sort of design you’d like!
Carefully drape your bandana across the dye-spotted shaving cream, pressing gently. Allow to sit for 1 minute before carefully peeling off.
Use the ruler or bench scraper to scrape off shaving cream, rinsing the scraper in warm water before each scrape. The colors may smear a bit as the shaving cream is scraped off but I think that adds to the uniqueness of each bandana.
Redrape the bandana over the same dye to tint any corners of the bandana you may have missed. Scrape shaving cream to reveal the dyed swirl pattern. 
I used one batch of dyed shaving cream for 2 or 3 bandanas, adding more fabric dye to intensify the colors. Allow bandanas to air dry overnight. Iron the back of the bandana with a hot iron before washing and drying.
