13 Things to Sew from Tea Towels

Tea towels are a great way to add color and personality to your kitchen. And they’re a handy place to dry your hands. But tea towels don’t always have to be used as tea towels. It turns out that a hemmed rectangle of pretty fabric also makes a great starting point for a sewing project. With the edges already finished, much of the work has already been done for you. All it takes is a handful of easy seams to turn a tea towel into a pillow, bag, apron, or more. Intrigued? We’ve rounded up some great tutorials for easy sewing projects you can make starting with a simple tea towel.

Look at all the things you can sew from a tea towel!

Easy DIY Dish Towel Aprons for Kids by Live Free Creative Co.

[photo credit: Live Free Creative Co.]

DIY Tea Towel Pillows by The Wood Grain Cottage

[photo credit: The Wood Grain Cottage]

Tea Towel Origami Bag Sewing Tutorial by Orange Bettie for Bombshell Bling

[photo credit: Bombshell Bling]

DIY Table Runner by Emily Henderson

[photo credit: Emily Henderson]

Super Simple DIY Pillows from IKEA Tea Towels by Farmhouse on Boone

[photo credit: Farmhouse on Boone]

Quick and Easy Tote Bag, Transform an Old T Towel by Vicky Myers Creations

[photo credit: Vicky Myers Creations]

10 Minute Dish Towel Aprons by Fyne’s Designs

[photo credit: Fyne’s Designs]

Tea Towel Projects: Quick and Easy Messenger Bag Tutorial by Tea and a Sewing Machine

[photo credit: Tea and a Sewing Machine]

Repurposed Calendar Tea Towels by Little Vintage Cottage

Turn tea towels into a plastic bag organizer!

[photo credit: Little Vintage Cottage]

How to Make Dishtowel Vegetable Storage Bags by Judy’s Chickens

[photo credit: Judy’s Chickens]

The 2 Tea Towel Drawstring Beach Bag Using Microfibre Tea Towels by Alanda Craft

[photo credit: Alanda Craft]

Make a Cute Roll-Up Pencil Organizer in 15 Minutes by Paper & Stitch

[photo credit: Paper & Stitch]

Slouchy DIY Sling Bag from Tea Towels – Free Sewing Pattern by Orange Bettie

[photo credit: Orange Bettie]

Next Pattern:

I am just smitten with this felt gingerbread house bag. This would make such a sweet special Christmas accessory for a kid. It’s a free pattern at Benzie Design, designed by Gracie from Hello Gracie Makes. It’s packed with adorable gingerbread house details, like swirls and stripes and scallops adoring the doors and windows.

And while all those details might seem like this would be a complicated pattern, it’s actually not. The bag itself is made from felt, which makes finishes edges unnecessary. (All of those scalloped edges are just cut from felt, no edge finishing required.) The strap is super simple, made from rope with knotted ends. And all those details are made with some basic hand embroidery stitches. Sparkle felt makes it extra cute.

The striped scallop roof is actually the top flap of the bag. A magnetic snap makes it a secure closure. The rope straps are attached through felt loops at the side of the bag.

They rate this project as an intermediate level, and it should take about 6 hours to make start to finish. That’s doable for a Saturday project or a couple of evenings. Full color photos step you through the entire process.

The project includes a shopping list for all of your supplies. They’ve got a shop so you can order all of them from Benzie if you like and get exactly the supplies used in the project. I noticed it includes a pair of scallop shears, which makes cutting all the scalloped edges for the roof and around the door a breeze.

Finished dimensions of the little felt gingerbread bag are approximately 6 ½” wide x 7 ½” tall. That’s the perfect size to hold a small book, a small toy, or a notepad and some cute pens.

Go to Benzie Design to get the tutorial and free pattern for the felt gingerbread house bag.

Next Pattern:

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