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Dishtowel Dress-Up

Spice up your kitchen decor with an embellished dishtowel! Pretty patterned fabric, tasty embroidery, and a decorative trim border are just the right ingredients for making this stylish project.
Project Needs & Notes: - Dishtowel - 1/8 yard shirting material or homespun - Medium-weight cutaway stabilizer - Lightweight water-soluble stabilizer for topping - Pins - Air-erase pen for marking - Decorative trim The design used in this tutorial is J8229, Simply Strawberries Rectangle.

Finished Size: 16" x 31"

This project was featured in the following:
Let's Dish Lookbook

Free project instructions to dress up a dish towel.

Begin by planning where to stitch the design. Print a template of the design from your embroidery software.

A template is a printout of a design, and it's an excellent tool for placement.

If you do not have embroidery software, Wilcom's TrueSizer is
a free program to use.

Center the template between the sides of the towel. Leave 1 1/4" between the hem of the towel and the bottom of the design.

Mark the center point, as well as the horizontal and vertical axis lines.

Use cutaway stabilizer on the back of the towel. The towel in this example is waffle weave, so a lightweight water-soluble stabilizer works well as a topping.

Hoop the three layers together, lining up the marks on the fabric with the marks on the hoop.

Attach the hoop to the machine and move the hoop so the needle is right over the center point.

Embroider the design. A size 11 or 75/11 sharp sewing needle, or an embroidery needle, is a good choice for towels.

After embroidering, tear the water-soluble stabilizer away from the top of the towel.

Cut the stabilizer away from the back. Leave about 1/2" around the design.

Next, prepare the ruffle. The towel in this example is 16 1/2" wide. Add 3" to that measurement to account for the pleats, and another 1" for seam allowances.

That means that the fabric for the ruffle is 20 1/2" x 4 1/2".

Sew a straight stitch 1/2" from the bottom of the fabric.

Use a seam ripper to fringe the edge.

On the top edge, turn the fabric 1/2" to the wrong side and press.

Pleat the fabric; pin the pleats in place.

Sew a 1/4" seam.

Fold the ends of the fabric 1/4" in, and press.

Fold the ends in another 1/4", and press.

Sew seams along the ends.

Line up the ruffled fabric on the towel. The ruffled fabric should extend over the towel by 3/4".

Pin in place.

Sew a 1/4" seam along the folded edge of the ruffle.

Add the decorative trim. Pin in place, and

Sew a seam along the center of the decorative trim.

These pretty dishtowels are a fast and fabulous way to brighten your kitchen decor, and are terrific housewarming and hostess gifts, too!

Questions or comments? Let us know! Send an email to us; the address is stitch@emblibrary.com.

Products used in this Project:

Simply Strawberries Rectangle	$4.99 - $6.99
Available in 4 Sizes:
11.75" x 5.92" \| 9.41" x 4.75" \| 7.80" x 3.93" \| 6.00" x 3.26"

Simply Grapes Rectangle	$4.99 - $6.99
Available in 4 Sizes:
11.75" x 5.85" \| 9.41" x 4.68" \| 7.80" x 3.88" \| 5.98" x 3.45"

Simply Cherries Rectangle	$4.99 - $5.99
Available in 2 Sizes:
9.41" x 4.67" \| 5.98" x 3.25"

Sweet Cherries with Blossoms Rectangle	$4.99 - $5.99
Available in 2 Sizes:
9.40" x 4.73" \| 6.00" x 3.03"

Fruit Cocktail Border	$2.49 - $4.99
Available in 3 Sizes:
9.41" x 3.09" \| 6.00" x 1.92" \| 3.86" x 1.27"

Sweet Grapes and Vines Border	$4.99 - $5.99
Available in 2 Sizes:
9.41" x 4.77" \| 5.96" x 3.01"

Sweet Strawberries and Blossoms Border	$4.99 - $5.99
Available in 2 Sizes:
9.40" x 4.68" \| 5.95" x 3.04"

Tree of Life Border	$5.49 - $5.99
Available in 2 Sizes:
9.41" x 4.71" \| 6.00" x 3.17"

Watermelon and Vines Border	$4.99 - $5.99
Available in 2 Sizes:
9.40" x 4.70" \| 5.96" x 3.10"

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Products used in this Project: