Many people switch out their kitchen and bath towels for various holidays and the changing seasons. It’s a simple way to decorate your home, but it can become very costly. Think about it: winter, spring, summer, autumn, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas…Do you really want to spend $5-$10 or more on an appliquéd kitchen towel for drying dishes or your hands? Add the cost of potholders, placemats, napkins, guest towels, etc. and you’ve got a major expense. Even if unlike me, you don’t have bill collectors camped on your lawn, given the economy, how many people really have that kind of disposable income anymore?
Still, how can you not pine for those cute items whenever you pass them in the store? Here’s a simple solution: make your own. The kitchen towels in the photo cost $1 each. Yes, I said $1 each. I bought them at the dollar store and decorated them myself with scraps left over from other projects. Each towel took me less than 15 minutes to make. Here’s how I did it:
AUTUMN LEAVES KITCHEN TOWELS
Still, how can you not pine for those cute items whenever you pass them in the store? Here’s a simple solution: make your own. The kitchen towels in the photo cost $1 each. Yes, I said $1 each. I bought them at the dollar store and decorated them myself with scraps left over from other projects. Each towel took me less than 15 minutes to make. Here’s how I did it:
AUTUMN LEAVES KITCHEN TOWELS
Materials (for each towel):
1 kitchen towel
small amount of no-sew fusible adhesive
small amount of print fabric
a few assorted leaves from your trees
iron
1. Pre-wash the fabric and towel to remove sizing.
2. Use the leaves as a template and trace around them onto the paper side of the fusible adhesive. (If you don’t have leaves to use, print out some images from clip art and trace them onto the paper.
3. Following manufacturer’s directions, apply fusible adhesive to wrong side of fabric.
4. Cut out leaves.
5. Arrange leaves face up on towel. Fuse to towel following manufacturer’s directions.
Buy towels in a variety of colors and make sets for various seasons and holidays -- hearts for Valentine’s Day, pumpkins for Halloween, shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day. You can find just about any shape on the Internet if you do a search of “coloring pages” + whatever image you want.
And here’s a bonus: If you need a quick hostess gift, make a towel to line a basket and add a jar or two of jam or some fresh baked muffins (Cloris has lots of recipes she’s posted on the blog. Just do a “muffin” search.)
1 kitchen towel
small amount of no-sew fusible adhesive
small amount of print fabric
a few assorted leaves from your trees
iron
1. Pre-wash the fabric and towel to remove sizing.
2. Use the leaves as a template and trace around them onto the paper side of the fusible adhesive. (If you don’t have leaves to use, print out some images from clip art and trace them onto the paper.
3. Following manufacturer’s directions, apply fusible adhesive to wrong side of fabric.
4. Cut out leaves.
5. Arrange leaves face up on towel. Fuse to towel following manufacturer’s directions.
Buy towels in a variety of colors and make sets for various seasons and holidays -- hearts for Valentine’s Day, pumpkins for Halloween, shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day. You can find just about any shape on the Internet if you do a search of “coloring pages” + whatever image you want.
And here’s a bonus: If you need a quick hostess gift, make a towel to line a basket and add a jar or two of jam or some fresh baked muffins (Cloris has lots of recipes she’s posted on the blog. Just do a “muffin” search.)
Wonderful idea.
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