tea towels – Mummy To Twins Plus One

So how did I make the tea towels?

I purchased tea towel material from the local sewing shop. I only bought enough for two. As you will see the material I purchased has stripes down the sides. You don’t have to get this type. Pick whatever fits the project you are creating. I paid $15, for the fabric plus the fabric pen.

I already had fabric paint from an earlier project.

When I got the fabric I also purchased a fabric pen to write the name of the teacher, the year, class and also to have the kids sign their names.

Fabric paint on plates to make it easier for kids to put hands flat to cover the whole hand.

Process

I washed the material before use. This made sure to ensure that the tea towel would not shrink after I have done all this work to it.

Once tea towel material was dry, the kids had fun adding their hand prints to the material. Make sure to have a different colour for each child and to leave enough room top and bottom for your hems and edges.

I made sure to have a butter knife to allow me to spread the paint evenly over the girls hands. I got the kids to practice on a spare piece of material I did not care for so that they knew how the paint would go on the material and how much was needed to give the right effect.

Once the fabric paint from the kids hand prints were dry, I added the teachers names, year, and class for the girls. I added their names under the right hand prints and also got the kids to sign their names to each tea towel. It is a bit hard to write with these pens so you might need to help a little person with this.

Make sure to iron the fabric to set the fabric paint once all dry. The paint needs heat to set it into the fabric.

The fabric paint is drying, on our DIY tea towels for the twins teachers.

The stitch that I used was great for the edges. It looks pretty and as you will see from the below video goes over the edges nicely to make sure it is secure and will last a long time!

All wrapped up and with Panda cards. The kids are in a class called the Kinda Pandas so this was so cool I found this online.

I hope this gives you some ideas and tips on how to make a cheap gift for family or your lovely teacher. Have fun and don’t get paint everywhere!

Originally published December 11, 2014

Make Your Own Tea Towels

I thought what could I make to be Christmas presents and decided on tea towels. Yes I am making tea towels as part of my Christmas gifts to family. I have made some and need to finish off quite a lot to be ready for next week. I really have my work cut out for me.

My finished products. Don't they look good. — My finished products. Don’t they look good.

I loved this fabric as well. You could either make tea towels, a table cloth or an apron out of this material. Very much for the chef.

One of the fabrics I chose. I love it as it is different and great for a Christmas present..

So how do you make a tea towel. Well you need to do the following:

Pick material that is 100% cotton. I chose thicker cotton material that will wear well as a tea towel.
What size will you make them? Will they be larger or the average size for a tea towel?
If you have a favourite tea towel why not measure the size of that and base the pattern on this size. This way you will be happy with the size and also the fabric as well.
Make sure to have the right colour cotton thread to match as this makes it look better and not to see all the seams is nice. However if you are clever you can make a nice decoration with an alternate colour thread. It is up to you and depends on the look you are going for.
I purchased 3 metres of each fabric and that has given us 10 tea towels of each type. You might get more depending on the size you make them.

TIP: To get a neat edge, fold over a little edge all round and iron. Then fold over again. This way when you sew it all round you will not see the bits left or any part that might fray. As it is cotton material there is a tendency to fray. If it is folded over and sewn in then this will not happen. Also it looks like a better professional finish

So a tea towel is just a piece of material that is neatly sewn all around. You can make them fancy by adding patches, fabric stamping and the like. If you have a tag to add you can add that as well so everyone knows you made it.

I am now thinking of making more and getting more creative with them. They are fun and easy to produce. Maybe I could be the tea towel queen if I ever get really good at it. Look out I might be at your local markets soon with a supply of home made tea towels.

So now I need to get serious and get onto to finishing my batch that I need for Christmas. I have also been cleaning the house, entertaining kids and now they are on holidays! Lets hope that my plans go well. They of course have not had a great start today as I have not stopped sneezing and feel like I am very sick currently.

I need to power on and make more tea towels as hubby would not be pleased with me if he came to find all material not created into towels for the kitchen. So in the next days until Christmas I will be busy working away in my hidden workshop, otherwise known as the dining room (I don’t have a dedicated room for sewing or craft) working away to complete the job.

What have you made or are making for Christmas presents? Send in your comments.