In the attempt to get more inventory in the Etsy shop, I started making flour sac kitchen tea towels. The supplies are relatively inexpensive, the cost factor here is MY TIME!! Here are a few samples of what I have managed to complete over the last week...100+ degree days!
What I use to make the towels:
- flour sac tea towels(they measure 28x28, I usually cut them in half to make a manageable size...you can leave them in the original state)
- embroidery floss
- embroidery needle
- embroidery hoop
- iron on embroidery pattern (Aunt Martha's are pretty common)
- iron
- pins to hold pattern in place
- fabric remnant (i LOVE to visit the remnant bin at the fabric store)
A few common tips:
- Place a few pins to keep your pattern in place. I have been impatient in the past, not pinned the pattern, and it only ends in frustration.
- When ironing on the pattern, be sure to pick up the iron to move it to the next spot on the pattern...if you slide it across the pattern, it can blur the lines or ruin the design all together...not good
- When embroidering, make your stitches a consistent size...it makes a nice finished product, whatever the size of stitch you choose to make.
- Have a little bit of a plan when you are following the pattern. My grandmother told me that the embroidery needed to look as nice on the back as it does on the front! This takes a little practice and sometimes a little extra time.
As you can see, the fabric added for extra interest can be done multiple ways. The Going Green example is sewn flat, while the Bloom and Grow sample has two ruffles. Others have one large ruffle and my next adventure is to do a quilted type border.
Hope this has inspired you to get the embroidery supplies out, dust them off and make some tea towels!! Please share pics if you enjoy making these as much as I do :)
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