TUTORIAL – Trimming Towels

I don’t know why, but this little project has me soooooo excited!  Actually, I do know why – it’s because it is so simple and has the potential to make  such a big impact on your bathroom!
One of the most exciting things about cleaning up my basement (besides having my own sewing space) is the fact that the bathroom is pretty much mine to do with what I please!  My bathroom, my choice of paint, my decor – mine!  OK, I’ll share, but the decorating is all mine!
As soon as we made the decision to paint the bathroom, I knew that I wanted Amy Butler’s Wallflower in blue to be the basis of my color theme.  I really love this fabric!  I knew I would make curtains and a tissue box cover….and somewhere I came across a project where someone trimmed their towels with fabric.  What a great idea! 
Take a look at what a difference you can make by trimming your boring towels with fabric:
AWESOME!
And you won’t believe how easy (and cheap) it is to do.  Here is my tutorial:
What You Will Need:
>  Buy some towels that have a strip across the bottom.  No need to purchase expensive ones – I picked these up at Costco for $3.99 each.  
>  1/4 yd fabric
> Coordinating thread

STEP 1
1. Measure the length and width of the strip on the towel where you will be placing your fabric strip. (Mine measured 1 3/4” x 15”)
2. Add 1 inch to both the length and width for a seam allowance.   (2 3/4” x 15”)




STEP 2
1. Cut your fabric to the size you calculated.  For fabrics with a defined pattern, you will want to make sure you that you cut the fabric so your design will be centered which will take a bit more planning.  As you can see, I wanted the flowers to be centered so I adjusted my cutting to do this. 

**You will need 4 strips of fabric to cover the right side of two towels.
TIP:  To streamline the cutting process, fold the fabric in half and then half again.  Then cut one long strip which you can then cut into smaller strips to fit the towel.

STEP 3
1.  Iron the outside edges in using a 1/2” seam.
2.  Fold the end pieces in 1/2” and iron.
3.  Trim the corners of the end pieces at a 45’ angle to create clean corners.


STEP 4
1.  Pin your fabric strip onto the towel.   
TIP:  Be sure to pin the fabric to the right side of the towel – I made the mistake of pinning it to the wrong side (side with tag) and didn’t realize it until both strips were pinned so I had to redo it.  OOPS!
2.  Top stitch the strip to the towel.  Go all the way around the strip without lifting the needle.  Keep the stitching clean and neat!
3.  Repeat for the other strips.

 Your Finished!

Could that be any easier?  I think this project took me about 45 minutes to do both towels.  The hardest part was figuring out the math for getting my flowers centered. 
Stay posted – I will be sure to take some shots of my finished bathroom featuring these towels when it is finished in a few months!