Make a Ruffled Dish Towel

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and we have been getting ready!

I love gifts that are a bit nontraditional, yet charming.

Why not give romantic, ruffly dish towels?

With pom poms, of course:).

For those of you who are just beginning to sew, I thought I would give a little tutorial:).
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To make this dish towel, you will need:

1 yard pom-pom fringe

9" x 24" piece of material for ruffle {longer for a fuller ruffle}

18 1/2"x 28 1/2" piece of thick cotton material

First, cut out your material to the specified measurements.
Remember, if you want a fuller looking ruffle, just cut the piece of fabric longer.
You will need more pom pom fringe if your ruffle fabric is longer than 35 inches.
Hem the edges around the tea towel.
I allowed an inch and made a wider seam.
Next, you need to serge or use your zig zag to stitch one side of the length of your ruffle.
{The long side...not the width.}

Now, hem the the two ends of your piece of ruffle fabric, and then the bottom side.

I used about a half inch allowance.

Pressing your seams with an iron first is a great way to avoid using pins to secure it.

I love doing it this way!

After you have hemmed the ruffle, you will want to sew 2 loose running stitches along the top side.

This is the side that you zig zagged.

Your running stitches are what we will use to make the puckers in the the fabric.

Sewing two stitches close together at the top makes for a more even ruffle effect.

Remember to leave long ends of thread to pull the fabric into 

Take the top two loose threads and pull!

You will have wonderful puckers...just make sure the ruffles look even.

Now, add the pom pom fringe.

Measure against the bottom hemmed edge and give your self about 1/2 inch extra on both sides.

Pin it in place, tucking the ends underneath.

I use my existing stitch as a guide and place the fringe along the top of the seam stitch.

Measure your ruffle against your dish towel and make sure it is the right length.

Place the ruffle on the right side of the dish towel {the finished side}.
Make sure it is facing right side to right side {of the dish towel} AND upside down...like so...

Pin in place and sew.

After sewing in place, just pull out your running stitches.

They come out quite easily.

Flip the ruffle over and iron...careful not to iron over pom poms.

You have a wonderfully simple gift for Valentine's Day, birthdays, or as a housewarming gift.

If you are not the sewing type ...this ruffled dish towel is available in my shop...The Field Barn.

Have a wonderful day!

~Julia

A big thank you to Kim at Today's Creative Blog for featuring me!

Kim...you are the sweetest!

{Also linked to A Bowl Full of Lemons.}