I desperately needed new dishtowels. I bought some flour sack towels five years ago, before I started sewing, and recently most of them have been retired. So, after the shock of opening the cupboard and finding two pitiful towels waiting to be used (after restocking via a fresh load of laundry) it was time.
I set out to make myself as many new dishtowels as I could in one afternoon. It turned out so well! I made two different styles: a bias bound edge and a mitered corner hem. I used old linens that were stored in my fabric stash. All of these linens were sourced secondhand from thrift stores or clothing swaps. They are all 100% natural fibers (this is key as polyester fiber is terrible at absorbing water).
I found the tutorials for the different edges on pinterest! Both tutorials were very clear and helpful and much better than I could do myself. That’s why I’m linking them here:
I did not follow these tutorials exactly. Rather, I used my 18×24″ cutting mat as a guide by placing it on top of the fabric and roughly cutting around the entire perimeter. Some dishtowels I cut out of an old tablecloth with a boarder. I just kept the hemmed boarder as a part of the towel and finished the cut edges. I found that the bias bound dishtowels took more time to make than the mitered corner hems. However, I made my own bias binding which considerably increased the time to make one towel. If one were using purchased double fold bias binding, I imagine the process would be much faster.
I am very happy with these towels. They fit in well with our kitchen scheme – and the pops of orange are a nice touch!
Reclaimed Craft 