How to make Reusable “Paper” Towels

In my last post I explained how we came to the decision of using reusable paper towels.  In this post I will explain how I made them and how YOU, too, can make these for your home.

1.  Choose your fabric.  I love to shop online for fabrics and Hawthorne Threads and Fabric.com are two of my favorites.  If you are fortunate to have a Walmart or Hobby Lobby near you, you most likely can find fabrics that you love at those stores, as well.  If you don’t mind the towels not matching, you might consider looking for “fat quarters”.  These are anywhere from 8-12 pieces of fabric measuring approximately 18″x18″.  You can pick these up pretty inexpensively.
2. I purchased 1 1/4 yards of quilting cotton for one side of the towel.  You will need the same amount of terry cloth for the other side.
3. Using your cutting board and rotary fabric cutter, cut your fabric into 12″x12″ squares.  When finished, you will have nine lovely towels to use in your kitchen!
4. Once your fabric is cut, they should look something like this.  You can iron the pieces if you wish, but I don’t and they turn out just fine.
5. Pin the fabric together, right sides together.

6.  As you sew, you will need to leave a space so you can turn the fabric.  I usually put a double pin on either side of the opening as a reminder to NOT sew it closed.

7.  Using a 1/4″ seam, sew along all of the edges, leaving a space between the double sets of pins.  Be sure to sew and then backstitch at the beginning and the end of your seam.

8.  When you are finished, turn the fabric right-side out.  Use your scissors to make sure the corners are pushed out into points!

9.  Find the open area and turn under the fabric.  Tuck under the pieces not sewn and pin closed.

10.  Topstitch a 1/8″ seam all around the towel being sure to back stitch at the beginning and end!

11.  Find the center of the towel and stitch down the center.  This will hold the towel together when you are using it to dry your hands or wipe up spills.

You should now have a stack of fabulous reusable paper towels to use in your kitchen.  I hope you love them as much as we love ours.

Feel free to ask questions or comment below!