If you’ve been thinking about making one of my Cut & Sew Tea Towel Calendars from Spoonflower, but aren’t sure how complicated it is, here’s a quick guide.
Back in 2016, I took some photos as I made Christmas presents at the last minute so you can see how easy it is. If you’re a real beginner, I would recommend checking some other guides and videos too for more details. You can also buy finished tea towels direct from Spoonflower – just click through to the design you want and click on the tea towel image.
What you’ll need:
- One of my tea towel designs printed on a fat quarter of fabric (preferably the linen/cotton blend)
- matching ribbon and thread
- iron and ironing board
- scissors
- pins
- a long piece of lightweight cardboard
- sewing machine
1. Use the cardboard as a guide to fold over about half an inch or so of fabric along one side, ironing it as you go. Be careful not to burn your fingers!
2. Do the same for all four sides
3. Cut the corners off so you don’t break a needle with all those layers. I cut a bit too close here but remember that any mistakes with handmade gifts just show that it was made with love.
4. Fold the raw edge of the fabric under and iron everything so you have a double layer with everything hidden inside.
5. Pin in place. Do the same for the other corners leaving a top one until last.
6. On the last corner cut a piece of ribbon to fit across the diagonal. This is for hanging and will make it look super professional.
7. Fold the fabric back trapping the ribbon and pin it in place
8. Thread the sewing machine with an appropriate colour to match the fabric. You could hand sew but tea towels get a lot of washing so it’s best to use a machine.
9. Sew a straight stitch all the way around, back stitching at the beginning and end.
10. Remember to check the other side occasionally to make sure your bobbin hasn’t run out or your sewing machine has decided to make a mess of everything. Looking good!
11. Trim the threads, hang it on a hook and feel awesome. Hurray, you made something! It only took me 45 minutes to make two so you can really bash these out for easy gifts that are both cute and useful.
Find all 12 of my 2022 tea towel calendars at Spoonflower. If you’re reading this in the future, I update them every October – give me a nudge if I haven’t done it yet.
