Bound Edged Tea Towel Tutorial

Saturday I needed a quick gift for a wedding shower at church the next day. I just wanted to do something simple and had a pack of plain tea towels on hand.  hmmm....

Mom had made me a couple of simple bound edged tea towels for my birthday several years ago and I LOVE them.  She made them to match my kitchen curtains, but I use them to cover up my sewing machines...because... well if I used them in the kitchen, they'd get ruined, you know!

Here's quick tutorial in case you want to make some up for yourself!

I edged two sides of my towels.  Start by cutting two long stripes about 2 inches wide and several inches longer then the towel edge you wish to bind.  Fold over 1/4 inch and press one side of each long strip.

Next, line your raw edge of the long strip against the towel about 1/4 inches from the edge of the towel with the right side of your fabric facing the wrong side of the towel.  The folded edge you just ironed should be toward the left.  Stitch it in place about 1/4 inches from the raw edge of the fabric (about 1/2 inches from the edge of the towel).

Once that's sewn, press the fabric strip open...it's looking pretty!

After pressing, flip the towel over, turn down the top and bottom raw edges that hang over a couple inches and then fold the pre-pressed edge over onto your stitching line that was just sewn, creating a smooth corner.  Pin along the length if necessary.

Finally, use a medium zig-zag stitch and sew the folded edge down, backstitching at the top and bottom. 

That's it!  You're finished!

Blessings,

Jessica