Tea Towels

 Hello!  I recently took a trip to Zimbabwe and as you can imagine the travel to and from Utah was loooong - about 24 hours one way.  I wanted to take along a hand-stitching project but I wasn't up for starting anything too intense so I decided to embroider some stars on a tea towel.  I just finished one of the towels and thought I'd share the pattern!

Supplies needed:

1-2 large tea towels

A water-soluble marker

A small ruler

Perle Cotton #5

(I used Sue Spargo Wonderfil Threads in the color EZ05.  

I got two 40-yard spools but I think 1 will be enough to do 10 stars - 5 on each towel.)

#22 Chenille Needles from Primitive Gatherings

Small scissors

A small embroidery hoop

Click HERE for a free PDF with two 3" Star templates.

Trace stars onto a tea towel using a water-soluble marker (you can ignore the frame around each star on the PDF if you want).  Trace along the edge of a ruler to quickly make the straight lines.  I started with one star in the center of my towel (about 3-1/2" from the bottom edge) and then added 2 on each side about 1-1/2" apart.

You can get creative here and alternate the two types of stars on one towel, stagger them, do different color threads, or stitch more or fewer stars!  Whatever your heart desires!

I used a simple back-stitch to embroider my stars.  Click HERE for a good YouTube video explaining how to do it if you're not familiar with that stitch.  I only got about 3 stars embroidered on my trip but it was nice to work on in my downtime!

[First time wearing readers!]

I forgot to bring an embroidery hoop with me on my trip but when I got home I tried stitching with one and found it to be much easier.  It keeps the towel out of the way a little bit and keeps everything taut while you're stitching.

This was a great last-minute project because it didn't require a lot of prep and it was great for taking 

on-the-go because it didn't require a lot of supplies.

Tea towels are my favorite for drying dishes!  I think one of these + your favorite nice-smelling dish soap would make a fun housewarming or Christmas gift.  I love THIS dish soap!  You could even monogram a towel with the initial of the recipient's last name...if they're not into quilty things.

This was the perfect little project for me, at this time in my life because it was a quick finish and it's very practical.  I know I will use it a lot.  I thought about starting a new applique project, but I just finished one (hoping to share that with you soon) and wasn't ready to start another one right now.  I thought about doing English Paper Piecing but again, just wasn't ready to start another intense project.  I thought about cross stitch but didn't think I would ever display it in my house.  So this ended up being perfect!

Are you interested in making one of these towels?

Click HERE for the free Star templates.

Thanks for stopping by today!