OK, I agree, it's not the most glamorous gift to give someone but it is practical! You have to admit that for tea towels, these are pretty chic. You could have such fun with different designs and you really only need a basic level of sewing skill. Make a set, tie them together with some lovely ribbon and hey presto! you'll have a lovely gift in lightning time and which will cost very little. This tutorial comes courtesy of the purl bee.
The Nani Iro Woven Solids used in this project are absolutely lovely. They are super soft and absorbent and the brown color way is the perfect shade of chocolate.
- One Yard of Nani Iro Woven Solids in Chocolate
- One Yard of Nani Iro Woven Solids in White
- Two packages of Trefle Twill Tape, one printed with brown squirrels and one with white squirrels
- One spool of 100% cotton thread in color 1040
- One spool of 100% cotton thread in color 3020
Wash and Press your fabric.
Cut four 16 X 27-inch pieces from the fabric (two from the brown and two from the white)
Cut eight 16-inch lengths of twill tape (four lengths from each color way)
Pin a piece of twill tape three inches from each short edge of a cut piece of fabric. (I used the brown squirrel tape with the brown fabric and the white squirrels with the white fabric.) Each towel will use 2 pieces of twill tape, one on each end. Make sure that the squirrels are facing the correct direction, with feet down towards the 3-inch section.
Edge Stitch Twill Tape
Edge stitching is a row of stitches sewn very close to the edge of a seam (or in this case twill tape), it has never been my strongest skill! For me edge stitching almost always turns out wobbly or I miss the edge. For this project I knew I needed to step up my game.
After a quick call to my mom (a former professional seamstress) I realized that edge stitching isn't as hard as I've always made it out to be. All you need to do is line up the right hand edge of the twill tape with the inside of the foot as shown in the picture above. This will give you the tiniest seam allowance (approximately 1/32 of an inch). It's also important not to stop and start too much once you start sewing.
With these details in mind, edge stitch one side of the twill tape to the fabric. (If it doesn't turn out to your liking, rip it out and try again). Use the brown thread on the brown dishtowel and the white thread on the white. Once you've neatly edge stitched one edge of your twill tape finish the other side in the same manner.
Hem the Towel
Press a 1/2-inch fold to the wrong side (the side without the twill tape) along both of the 16-inch sides of the towel. Then do the same to the 27-inch sides as shown above.
Repeat this step again, first folding the short (16-inch) sides in a 1/2-inch and then doing the same to the long (27-inch) sides. Pin the sides down.
With a 1/2-inch seam allowance sew all the way around the towel, backstitching at both ends.
And hey presto!
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