T towels.

Nice t towels are very hard to find. Mostly they are yuk. I did see one I loved and it was $24. Another time I was given a linen one. It was apparently coated with some water proof substance and despite washing in hot water etc it would never dry dishes. I thought it was the ultimate irony really. Anyway it was useless.

Eventually I decided to make my own and have ever since. I do a double thickness using a thick absorbent cotton on the back and a pretty one on the front. Then an edging. This could also be crochet like on the pillowcases which would make it less expensive.

It takes a lot of material to make a stack of these as I like to make them a generous size. I just watch out all the time for beautiful vintage style fabrics. In thrift shops I buy old curtains, sheets, doona covers and remnants. Vintage linen is often pristine or even in the packet still! Curtains give you so much material as do sheets. A double size sheet set is often around $4. So it's a huge amount of fabric for so little. Also I have purchased flannelette cream sheets from cheap stores as this is absorbent and good backing. The fabric part is then only around $1 or less per t towel.

I soak and wash everything to clean and pre shrink it.

Then the fun is choosing what goes with what and which fabrics suit your friends and their kitchens and your own!

I purchased edging from Spotlight but many times I have also picked up old trims from thrift shops and many cheap shops carry them too. I think a crocket edge would be lovely. I go right around but one edge would be ok too. And I make a loop in a corner as that's handy. 

A supply of these is so useful. They go into the picnic basket, over food and are so functional.

Last year I added pot holders. I made them large so they can be doubled over.

For these I purchased crown images on etsy and sourced crown charms to sew in a corner (also etsy) Even with this they worked out about $4 each all up. 

And for myself and a couple of bird loving friends I did the same with bird prints. Mine still make me smile when I use them. 

Often I think I wonder what these would be in a gift store? 

It is really simple sewing and I manage Christmas presents by starting in January! Doing a few projects a month I end up with heaps of things. I tend to sew in summer, knit and crochet in winter and embroider all year around. Mum just gave me the most gorgeous crochet cotton in a soft muted blue grey.... now to plan what to make with it!