1 Yard Tea Towels Tutorial sewing project
One yard of fabric turns into 2 tea towels in this easy-to-follow tutorial! These towels are the perfect project to teach a budding new sewer or the perfect housewarming or hostess gift for the holidays. Be sure and save a set for yourself; they are so easy to make! We used Ellen Krans' CUPCAKE A DAY print since this project is excellent for large scale fabrics with a one way design.
Gather your supplies before you sew
To make 2 matching towels you will need
1 yard of 100% cotton fabric, 44/45-inches, washed, dried , and pressed
88 inches of coordinating trim: rick rack, bias tape, etc
8 inches of cotton twill tape
thread to match trims and towel fabric
glue stick, scissors, iron, ironing board, sewing machine
Prepare to rip the fabric
**In order to keep the towels on the "straight of grain" we suggest ripping the fabric into rectangle. By ripping the fabric, it will stay square. If you are uncomforable ripping your fabric, you may use a rotary cutter and mat to get similar results. Be careful to keep the fabric square as you cut the two towels.
Prepare the first rip by clipping into the left side of your fabric as shown above. Clip about 3/4-inch into the fabric, just past the selvedge in the body of the fabric. Grasp the fabric on both sides of the clip and rip apart. Your fabric should easily split on the grain line up the entire side of the fabric.
Repeat for the right side.
Left selvedge removed
Your fabric will leave a few little loose threads along the lengt; pull them off and discard them.
Bottom and top of fabric ripped and ready
Repeat the same process of clipping and ripping on the bottom edge of fabric as well as the top edge. When the fabric was cut at the store, it may not be entirely square. Be sure to take care and rip acros the entire width of the fabric. If you rip at a slight angle, do not worry. Simply clip a little higher up on the side and rip again. Repeat until you are able to rip the whole width. Repeat for the top edge of the fabric.
Make 2 towels from the width of fabric (wof)
You now have a rectangle that should be on the stright of grain. You may notice a little distortion along the rips and in the corners. Not to worry, that will be trimmed off or hidden in the hems. Fold the rectangle in half, along the wider side, and clip as shown. Rip up where this clip is, ripping the rectangle in half making two equal pieces. These are your two towels. (From here we will show how to make one towel...simply repeat for the second towel).
Folding the bottom hem
With a hot iron (set to fabric type) press the bottom hem 3/4 up as shown.
Fold and glue hem for sewing
Fold raw edge of fabric down into the previously pressed hem. Use glue stick to hold the hem in place. Pass the iron over the glued area. This will dry the glue and make it easier and cleaner to sew through with the sewing machine needle.Be careful not to let the iron touch the glue. If it does you will need to clean your iron with a clean rage and some hot water.
Repeat the same procedure for the top hem.
Add the hanging loop
Cut the 8-inch length of cotton twill into two 4-inch pieces. Carefully glue one length under the top hem as shown aligning one edge along the side and the other under the hem. Pass the hot iron over the glued end.
Bottom sewn!
Carefully machine stitch the bottom hem in place.
And now for the top hem
Machine stitch the top in place.
Apply the trim
Using glue stick, apply the trim pieces, about 2 inches above the bottom hem, and press with a hot iron. Make sure the iron is the right temperature for the trim! Many trims can not support high temperatures. Turn the heat down if needed.
Sew the trims in place
With matching thread, sew the trims in place.
Trim
Trim off any overhanging pieces with scissors.
Press side hem
With a hot iron, press one side hem as you did with the other two hems. Be sure to fold the hanging loop in with the hem. Press a 1/2-inch fold.
Glue in place
Fold fabric over and glue stick in place as shown. Pass a hot iron over the fold to dry the glue and hold the fold in place.
Repeat
Repeat for other side of towel. Keep the corners square and the folds even. The glue sitck will help keep everything in place!
Stitch side hems in place
Stitch both side hems in place and one towel is done! Repeat the steps above for the second towel.
