How To Sew DIY Dish Towels
Whether you are making these towels to freshen up your kitchen, use as props in food photography, or give as a gift, you will want to sew several of them! They are such a relaxing project.
Supplies
- cotton or cotton-linen blend fabric (see instructions for measurements)
- sewing machine
- pins or quilting clips
- tape measure/ruler
- bias tape or twill tape (optional, for hanging loops)
Instructions
Pre-wash the fabric
- Wash fabric using the settings with which you will wash the finished towels. This will pre-shrink the fabric, so our finished towels stay the size we sewed them.
Iron As Needed
- I like the freshly washed texture of this cotton/linen fabric, but if your fabric has severe wrinkles after washing you'll have an easier time sewing it if you iron it first. This can also help with the squaring up process.
Cut Into Rectangles (note: for smaller towels)
- Next up, cut the fabric into rectangles. If you have a complete yard of fabric, this is easy. Square off the edges (see this tutorial for how to square off fabric) and then fold into four. Cut along the folds into four equal rectangles.Note: This method uses a complete yard of fabric--no scraps. The downside is that these are smaller towels than may be desired. After shrinkage and hemming, my towels measured about 19.5"x14".
Cut Larger Towels
- If you prefer to cut larger towels, you'll need to measure your fabric into rectangles. Use a large ruler to measure or a store-bought dish towel as a template. I opt to cut rectangles about 19"-20" wide and about 25"-26" long for my larger (more standard size) towels.
Hem Edges
- Fold over long edges of the rectangle over 1/2" and 1/2" again. You can press these edges with an iron or just pin and sew them.
- Use a medium length stitch on your sewing machine to edgestitch close to the inside edge of the fold-over. Remove pins/clips as you sew the hem.
- Carefully snip just the corners of each seam off (four corners to snip) to reduce bulk.
- Now, fold over the short edges of the rectangle 1/2" and 1/2" again. Press if desired. Note: If you are adding a hanging loop, wait to sew the top edge of your towel and follow the instructions below for adding a loop.
- Pin or use quilting clips to secure the seam as you stitch. Edgestitch with a sewing machine close to the inside edge of the folded hem. Remove pins/clips as you sew the hem.
Add a Loop to Hang the Towels
- For a corner loop, cut about 6-9" of bias tape or twill tape (I used 8"). If using bias tape, sew the open edge closed first to prevent fraying in the wash.
- Fold the piece of tape in half, and add the loop into the corner before hemming the top edge of the towel. Fold it with the fabric as you fold over the seam to encase the edges of the loop. Stitch seam, adding reinforcement around the loop as needed.
- For a middle loop, cut about a 4" piece of tape. Again, if using bias tape, stitch the tape closed first. Pin short edge of hem and then tuck the ends of the bias tape into the middle of the towel, making a loop. Secure the loop with more clips and stitch the hem, removing clips as you sew. All done!
Notes
Can I Hand Sew the Towels? Hand-sewing these will take much longer, but you can absolutely do that if you don't have a sewing machine.
What Kind of Fabric Is Best? I love the cotton-linen blend and linen-rayon blend I linked in the tutorial, but 100% cotton will work too. Skip quilting cottons.