Friday, July 20, 2007

Dressy Kitchen Towel

I first posted this tutorial on making a dressy oven door kitchen towel more than two years ago. Since then I have made many of them, and they just get easier! This is by far my most visited page, so I have updated the photos and added a video to demonstrate sewing the underarm seams.  Yesterday I looked at Etsy.com to see what these towels are selling for.  Wow!  Some crafty ladies are asking $20 for them!  I could do ten hours' work for $100...




These cute kitchen towels are relatively inexpensive gifts, especially if you have a stash of buttons and a bunch of extra trim lying around. And once you get the hang of it they don't take very long to whip up.




First of all, pick out a kitchen towel that you like. Next find a coordinating fabric.  You will need a piece about 14" x 28".  Wash and dry your fabric. If it is a wrinkled mess, iron it. Fold your fabric in half, right sides together, so that when you cut out your pattern you will be cutting two identical pieces.

Here is the bodice pattern that I made for it. Sorry you can't read my notes very well. It is 12"x13", with the corners cut out so that the bodice is 8" across the front, and the sleeve side is 6" wide. You don't have to use these exact dimensions.  I used a canning jar lid as a pattern for the head hole, and off-set the circle about 1/2" from the center so that the finished "dress" looks like there is a front and a back. (I did not offset the neck hole for the towel/dress in the above photo.)

 




Cut out your bodice through both layers, and remember to cut out the circle for a neck hole.




Next, cut your towel in half and set it aside.  I found several of these nice quality Laura Ashley towels at Big!Lots! for $2.50 each.






Now take your bodice pieces and pin them together around the neck hole, matching all the sides and corners.  Sew around the neck hole using a 1/4" seam.






Clip into the seam about every 1/2", or less, so that when you turn it right side out, the circle will be nice and even and not shaped like a multi-faceted polygon.  Be careful not to cut into the stitching.






  Take one of the layers, either one, and stuff it through the neck hole.






 Now lay the two pieces together nice and flat, matching the sides, and press the neck seam.






Next, watch. 









Oops, I meant to say that the seam should be trimmed to 1/4" or 3/8". Be sure to clip into the curve, close to the stitching, just like you did with the neck seam.  Lay the bodice flat and press each seam nice and flat.





Turn up a 5/8" hem on the sleeves, turning both the bodice piece and the lining piece to the inside of the fabric, matching the edges at the fold.  Press, then top-stitch close to the edge. 



 




Set the bodice aside.



Now for the towel/skirt. Using your longest stitch length (basting), make a row of stitching 5/8" from the cut edge of both towel pieces, leaving several inches of both spool and bobbin thread at both ends.  Do this again 1/4" inside the first stitching line. 





You are going to gather the towel so that its width will match the width of the bodice. Anchor the bobbin threads down at one end by inserting a pin and then wrapping both threads around the pin in a figure eight. At the other end of the stitching, pull both bobbin threads together with one hand, and with the other hand slide the fabric along the thread so that the towel edge gathers.  When the towel width matches the bodice width, anchor this end of the thread the same way you did the other.






Adjust the gathers so that they are even across the top of the "skirt".  Now pin the towel to the outside front piece of the bodice, right sides together, keeping the lining clear. Set your stitch length back to normal and sew from one side seam to the other, backstitching at each end. This is easier if you have the gathers on the underside. Repeat these steps with the back pieces.






Lay the "dress" out flat so the the inside is face up. Trim the seam to 3/8" (don't cut the facing) and press it towards the bodice.  Your facing should be loose. Turn up the bottom edge of the facing 5/8" so that the pressed fold lies on the stitching line, and hand-sew it down across the bodice on the inside of the seam.



 



 



Here is how your "dress" should look now.  Sorry, I got tricky and added some eyelet to the bodice/skirt seam, and I didn't tell you how to do that.  But you can figure it out.  I have confidence in you.  






You're almost done!  Now you can decorate with trim around the neck edge, sleeves, and/or bottom of bodice.  Just stitch the trim on over the fabric, wrapping the trim ends around the back side.


The final step is to cut four pieces of 1/4" or 3/8" cross-grain ribbon to about 8", and tack one piece to each side of the front and back of the bodice. I use a bit of FrayCheck on the raw edges of the ribbon to keep it from raveling.  Snaps would be good, too, or Velcro. Use your imagination.




Hang the dress over your oven door handle and tie both sides. Voila!








 





If you have questions leave a comment, and I will answer in forum style, commenting back to you on this page. Happy sewing and giving!

35 comments:

  1. I just took a quick look this morning...I'll be back later today to get the specifics! It looks like a project that my daughter and I can do on a rainy day! Thanks!


    mamajuliana http://stjuliana.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Sally!!! I was hoping that you would one day share the instructions for making your darling towels. Looks like a project that is easy and would be such a nice gift. Great job with the photos. As a visual learner, this will help me out immensely!


    Thanks again~

    Pam

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  3. You did an excellent pictorial tutorial for us! Awesome job!

    Because of Jesus. Bobbie

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  4. Those are absolutely adorable!!!

    I think I actually WILL try one!

    Thanks for the directions!

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  5. that looks like fun! i will have to try it sometime

    marie

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  6. I like your idea for the towel dress.


    But it looks like you may have some competition... Somebody invented another kind of towel dress called the Towelini... But it's for the beach, not the kitchen. http://www.towelini.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. devad55@gmail.comMay 16, 2008 at 1:25 PM

    Thank you very much for posting this pattern. I made a dozen a few months ago and gave them away as gifts. I gave 4 to my daughter who is away in college. She and her roommates love them. I made another one today. I've also embellished them a lot.

    Now I'm making oven mitts and potholders.

    Have a good day.


    Adele

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  8. I still have my purple one, but I sure could use another purple one. Wink. Hint.



    Kristy

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  9. I love these little dresses. some one has ask me to make then one. What do you sell them for? You have done a wonderful job.

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  10. Mama Nell, I don't sell these towels -- I just give them as gifts. But I have seen them for as much as $15. !! I'd never pay that for one, but apparently somebody does. I have had good success getting nice heavy kitchen towels at Big!Lots! for around $2.

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  11. Ithink the dress is real cute.But can not figure out how you did the top.Maybe you can explain how you did it better. I have try to do it like you said but can not get it to work. Thank

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous, if you will email me, I might be able to help you. Click on my profile link at the top of the right sidebar. On my profile page there is a link to email me. Put "dishtowel" or "blog" or something like that in the subject line so that I will know it is you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. IS THERE A WAY YOU COULD MAKE A PATTERN SO IT COULD BE PRINTED OUT. IN PDF FORM. I CANT MAKE THE PATTERN MYSELF.

    CAN YOU HELP

    THANKS

    RENITA

    ReplyDelete
  14. diamondsintheroughApril 6, 2010 at 2:32 PM

    Renita, I don't have that much techie knowledge. If you'll leave a comment with your address I'll send you a pattern. Then I'll delete your comment, so your address isn't out there for the whole world to see.

    Sally

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  15. This is a new way of making these for me. I do them too, but have had trouble figuring out how to do the neckline more cleanly; now I see! I only put one of the towel pieces on though, on the back side, and bring the front over the oven door handle and hold it in place with a button or velcro. Love this idea - maybe I'll try one this way next. I'm making a bunch (from a pattern I made up) to sell this coming weekend - is it OK if I try to sell one made from your instructions too?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Lubbygirl, thanks for your comment after all these years since this post!
      Absolutely, make some up to sell. I don't have a patent on creativity. :) I find the ribbons cumbersome. You might want to experiment with a button or something easier to work. Velcro?
      Using your method, do you only use half of a towel per pattern? Or do you cut the towel in half and sew both halves to the back piece of the bodice? Yes, that makes more sense.

      Delete
    2. I cut the towel in half and sew one piece to the back part of the dress top. I either put a buttonhole in the front, or else do Velcro and a 'pretend' button on the front. I've got a bunch of them on my blog (http://theremissionary.wordpress.com), and have made a whole bunch more lately. :-)

      Delete
  16. I just want you to know you've answered my prayers. I visited a lady one day and saw a darling 'pinafore' on her oven door. Looking it over I tried to make a pattern and re-create it for some young girls in my class. My frustration mounted as I struggled until my prayers were answered and this post showed me how to sew up the neck - thanks for posting!!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Now that's a blessing. God knew nine years ago that you were going to need help with this project, so he had me show you how way ahead of time. :) Best wishes. I'm happy to know my instructions helped!

      Delete
  17. I just found your awesome tutorial and am working on my very first Holiday Dress Towel for my kitchen. I especially loved the little video on how to sew the four underarms and have no seams showing. Thank you for the awesome tutorial. I posted a photo of my towel on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/sewsweetcakedesigns/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I enjoy being reminded every few months of my 30 seconds of fame. :) Your projects look fun! I put my sewing machine away a few years ago and it only comes out for repairs now. :(

      Delete
  18. Thank you so much for this tutorial! I found your video on YouTube after wrestling with a project just like this for my mother in law! She had a dish towel dress and I was retroactively trying to make it, but the neckline mystified me! �� Thank you so much for this! It will streamline my next attempt!

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  19. Thank you for sharing, with your instructions I know I get some made for my friends and family.

    ReplyDelete
  20. EST-CE QUE VOUS POUVEZ FAIRE UN MODÈLE, POURRAIT ÊTRE IMPRIMÉ. EN FORMULAIRE PDF. JE PEUX FAIRE LE MODELE JE SUIS.

    POUVEZ VOUS AIDER

    MERCI raym

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raym, je suis désolé, je n'ai pas un modèle. :(

      Delete
  21. Dommage, j'ai essayé hier soir je pense avoir compris merci c'est très gentil de partager cette méthode je ne connaissais pas et ce que vous faites est magnifique !

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  22. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  23. I can't view the pictures. Do you have them still available so I can see the tutorial? Thanks.

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  24. I think you missed a step in your tutorial. When did you close up the side seams? before or after you sewed the neck hole seam? There is no mention of this.
    Thanks
    Denise

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    Replies
    1. The side seams and underarm seams are the same. When you sew from the end of the sleeve and around the underarm curve, you will have closed it.

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    2. This is shown in the video. Best wishes!

      Delete
  25. I love the cute dressy kitchen towels and want to start making one but my video doesn't show. Any recommendations? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Try it again. Works for me! If you still can't, leave your email, and I'll try to send the YouTube link.

      Delete

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