When buying gifts, I've always gone with the mindset that if I like it, the recipient will too. This typically has served me well, but thanks to Pinterest, I can use my supersonic power of deduction to figure out what other people like and, therefore, would like to receive! My friend is having a birthday in about a month, and I have been brainstorming some ideas. Last year, my initial heart necklace was just perfect. Earrings? A bracelet? More jewelry??? Well, that's a tough call because I don't want to give the same thing each year! Lucky me, I found a pin of hers that looked simple[ish] and unique. Enter the hanging dishtowel. Thanks to all the quilts I have made, I have about 30 different coordinating scraps in brights and pastels and plenty of quilt batting (I used this instead of the recommended felt piece). I have no idea what my friends kitchen color palette is, but I figure that I would use any of these in my kitchen even though none of them "match".
I found the suggested pattern, printed it, and got to work. The author describes this as a "quick, 1-hour project" but if you are anything like me, you will spend 30 minutes deciding on towels and coordinating fabric, 10 minutes choosing the perfect button, 5 minutes cutting your dishtowels perfectly in half, and at least 10 minutes arranging the pattern so that you can make as many of these as possible. That was how I spent my first hour of this project. In real-time, I think this is more like a Saturday afternoon project instead of a quick let's-make-a-cute-present project. And, of course, I had to make two "practice" towels for myself. Anyway, here is how it went down.
1. Lay out the pattern and trace onto your fabric.
2. Cut two top pieces and a piece of batting to match.
3. Face the two good sides together, and lay the batting on top.
4. (Not shown) Cut the tab pieces and stick on all sides except bottom. Turn right side out and add between the two facing pieces, above. This will save you a step later.
5. Pin in place and stitch on all sides except the bottom. Turn right side out.
6. Gather the towel, or pleat, and pin in place.
7. Turn the ends of the top piece under about a 1/2" all around. Sandwich the towel in between the top and bottom of the upper piece. Stitch in place.
8. Stitch a button hole on the top tab and a button on the upper piece. Sadly, I chose to order cut, matching buttons, and they still have not arrived!!
Voila!! The perfect birthday gift, plus two new-to-me yellow towels!
*Side note: I prewashed my fabrics and towels first, but I think the presentation of the gift would be much more crisp and "new" if I had not!
cuuuuute!
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