How to Sew Hanging Hand Towels
Create a hanging hand towel in less than an hour for yourself or to give as a gift. The towels are easy to make and require few supplies. Hand sew the towel together if a sewing machine is not available. The finished towels can be hung in convenient locations as they have a button closure for hanging.
Things You'll Need
- 1 lightweight, square potholder with hanging loop on one corner
- 1 dish towel
- Washable marking pencil
- Pins
- Thread
- Sewing machine
- Needle
- Button
Instructions
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Sewing a Hanging Towel
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1
Lay the dish towel flat with the wrong side facing you. Mark the horizontal center with a washable marking pencil or by placing pins in the center location.
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2
Thread the sewing machine with thread that matches the potholder. Set the sewing machine to sew a basting stitch. This is a long stitch that will hold the fabric in place and is easy to pull out when finished.
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3
Sew across the horizontal center of the dish towel with a basting stitch. Do not back stitch on either end. Gather the dish towel to the same length of the potholder when the potholder is folded diagonally to form a triangle. Gather by pulling gently on each end of the basting threads to shorten the towel length.
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4
Fold the potholder in half diagonally and mark the center line. Make sure the hanging loop is at the top point of the triangle fold.
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5
Lay the dish towel flat with the right side facing you. The gathered center is in the middle of the towel. Lay the potholder flat on the dish towel with the wrong side facing you. Match the dish-towel basting line and the marked potholder center and pin in place. Adjust dish towel gathers to make them even across the towel.
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6
Set the sewing machine stitch length to normal. Sew across the potholder and towel on the marked center line in a straight stitch, making sure to back stitch on each end to hold the stitching. Remove pins as you sew. Pull out basting thread when finished.
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7
Fold the potholder up so the right sides are on the outside. The potholder loop should be at the top of the towel. Sew a large button on the opposite potholder triangle to create a hanging tube. The potholder can now be hung on a cabinet, refrigerator or oven door.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Use a matching dish towel and potholder or be creative and use contrasting colors.
Fold the towel instead of gathering. Lay the towel right side down and fold back towel ends until the width matches the diagonal width of the potholder.
Use a hemmed fabric square instead of a potholder to create towels for the bathroom or for a different look.
Add embellishments such as lace, ribbon or additional buttons to the finished towel.
