by Debbie Vechter
Machine embroidery is a fun and satisfying hobby. It is also very practical.
One of the most practical uses for machine embroidery is of course, making
gifts for special occasions. Gifts for birthdays, Mother’s Day, special times
and ‘just because’ are extra special because they’re one of a kind gifts.
The Designs By Sick embroidery designs all sew out so beautifully. The main
thing to remember is to always use a good quality thread, such as
Robison-Anton rayon and a really good quality bobbin thread, such as
Superior Bottom Line or Robison-Anton pre-wound bobbin thread or whatever
you have had the best success with.
My friend, Betty, recently phoned to invite my husband and me to her home
for a small dinner party. Of course, we were thrilled to go and I quickly
volunteered to help by bringing any dish she wanted. She politely refused,
saying that we were guests and just to come and enjoy ourselves.
I then decided that rather than bring flowers, wine or candy as a hostess
gift, I would make something very special and unique for the hostess. I
decided to make a set of tea towels as a hostess gift, using the Appliqué
Water Cans designs from Designs by Sick. She would know that these tea
towels were special and just for her.
I purchased linen tea toweling by the yard at my local fabric store.
The nice thing about making tea towels yourself is that you can make a
generous sized tea towel as compared to those you buy ready-made. Most
often, the ready-made tea towels are 14 ½” X 27”. The tea towel yardage
is about 17” wide and of course, you can make the towels as long as you
wish to. My finished towels turned out to be 33” long, making them
infinitely more practical than the small, ready-made types. Additionally
the store had several retro border choices available, and I chose the
color that would look best in Betty’s kitchen.
Linen tea toweling is easy to hem, hoop, and stabilize. The first step is to
hem the ends of the tea towels. Then, once the towels are hemmed, the design
has to be decided upon. Measure carefully to get your design centered and
placed near the bottom edge of the tea towel. Be sure to write down the
measurements, as you will need them to get the design in the same place on
the second tea towel.
I used cut-away stabilizer, but water soluble stabilizer would be a good
choice as well, as tea towels will be washed more often. Once the linen towels
are hooped tightly with the stabilizer under the linen, be sure to rotate the
design on your machine so that it is upside down ‘to you’. Why would I do
that, you ask? Well, what I have found is that you do not want the bulk of the
tea towel hanging down behind the the machine, creating a drag on the
embroidery movement. By rotating the design 180*, the bulk of the tea towel
is towards the front of the machine where it can be controlled by you should it
become necessary to do so.
I changed the colors of the design to suit Betty’s kitchen and you can do the
same. This gift was received with much appreciation as the recipient knew that
the tea towels were made especially for her, in friendship.
Please see the photos of this project . . .
Enjoy! and do it for a friend 
(You can click on the design name and the design set will open in a new window.)
This is so much better than making a dish. The dish would be gone that night. These tea towels will last for years. Betty couldn’t ask for anything more. I would have loved to have seen and heard Betty. Thanks for the story and the instructions. Simply lovely towels and I would change the decor of my kitchen just to match your towels. lol
This towels are lovely, Where can I get the design?Thanks
Too darned cute!!! Makes me want to go do dishes…….no….maybe not!!! LOVE the red!
The towels are cute. I hadn’t thought of making my own. But please – use a tear away, not cut-away – you don’t want that backing to show when you’re done.
Hi Donna & Maria,
Thank yo both for your kind comments.
Maria, you can get the design right on this website, http://designsbysick.com/details/appliquewatercans (edited by moderator)
The embroidery on the towels is the first design.
It’s a great website for tons of super embroidery designs. Hope this helps you make towels of your own.
Don’t forget – you need to wash the towels before you embroider as they will most likely shrink.
Debbie , I have that design but couldn’t figure out what to use them for. You did a great job. Just one question….did you leave the applique area blank ? If so what a great idea Love it! Love it !! Mary
Hi Mary,
So glad you like the idea! Yes, I left the applique area blank and the tea towel just shows through – couldn’t be easier.
loved this artical and the towles
I was the one that ditigized these designs and I must say on your tea towel they are very lovely indeed and what a great idea to leave the applique part of it blank. Just too darn cute, thank you for using my designs from sick.
heidi
Perhaps you can tell us the name of the embroidery designs set you used to make these tea towels. I have looked under: applique, garden, gardens, kitchen, topper, tea, and probably twenty other searches without success.
[moderator: I have now used BOLD to make the name of the design stand out more. Also, if you click on the name of the design, the webpage where it can be found will open in a new window. Hope this helps!
Rob]
her link for designs
/http://designsbysick.com/details/appliquewatercans
I didn’t realise I could purchase tea towel fabric! Where did you find it?
Diane, I bought the tea towel fabric by the yard at my local fabric store, Fabricana. I have seen some tea towel fabric online, too. If you do a search online, you will most likely be able to track some down.
This is a great project but I cannot find linen tea toweling anywhere. I can find lots of cotton tea toweling. If I want to go with linen I will have to buy regular yardage and hem all four sides.