Make It: A Tea Towel

Sometimes sewing just needs to be quick. After a wild day at work, or even worse a long ride home in stop and go traffic, I rarely feel like I have the energy to get knee-deep into a sewing project during a weeknight. Honestly, sometimes I just need a quick fix to feel like I'm making something with my hands, and this was one of those projects.  I introduce to you the 30 minute tea towel.

I picked up this fabric remanant about a week prior not sure what project I would end up using it.  I knew it was still sitting in the original bag, not being touched for what felt like was forever. But really, it was only a few days while I was sick with a cold and that felt like forever.

The fabric a cupcake pattern with recipe text scattered about some random 'cupcakery' phrases in a black and tan color, a perfect match for the kitchen. It felt nice to get a project started and finished in one night, and not have to remember where to pick it up the next time I could get in some sewing.

Here's what you need:
A small piece of fabric - mine was about .75 yards and I used about .50 of it
Sewing Machine & Thread
Scissors
Iron
Hand needle *Optional
Embroidery or Heavy Thread & Trim *Optional

Instructions:
Cut out a square of the fabric. I used an existing towel and cut around it using it as a pattern. I chose to do a .5 inch doublefold hem. I wanted to get the clean mitered corners, and although they are not perfect, it was a great piece to practice on. Once the hem is in place, fold and iron the towel to create creases where you want the tea towel to take shape. For an added touch, I used some old black fabric trim and a zig-zag stitch to secure it to the bottom of the towel. Finally, taking some inspiration from an Anthro tea towel I was given as a gift, I hand-sewed a few large stitches around the block colors in the fabric. These last two steps are completely optional.

 

This is a simple and fast project for any sewing level. I love that I found a project to use this fabric on, and it matches the kitchen. Now, the problem is that I don't want to wipe my hands on it because I know I made it! But, as you can see from the wrinkles in the photos below, someone's hands (not mine, of course!) have found their way to it.

Enjoy and thanks for stopping by!

Erica