A Friday Finish & a Little Tutorial

I have had this idea in my head for awhile now. I thought it might be perfect for Mother's Day gifts and I think I was right. So quick to make and inexpensive too.  Let's have a look, shall we? First of all, here is what we will be replacing. My daughter knitted these for me from cotton yarn a few years back. They were well used and held up pretty well. But lately, they look shabby and worn. Time for some new ones.

So after much thought, I bought these at Target. You get a four pack for like 4 or 5 dollars. And, they are white so they go with everything.

Then, all you need is a quarter yard of fabric, your machine, your iron and about and hour and you can make a set of these. Yup, one hour. Ready to see how?

 First, take a towel and pin four pleats in the top of it. The top should be about 6 inches across after the pleats are in.

 I used my walking foot to stitch across the top, about half an inch down. No need to back stitch. This is just to hold the pleats for now.

              This is how it looks at this point; full at the bottom and gathered at the top.

 They, I drew a pattern like this, to make the top of the towel that holds it over the handle of the drawer or oven. You can shape it however you like. You just need to enclose the top of the towel and create a hanger for it. I cut two of these for each towel.

Reinforce the top of the holder with interfacing. You will be making a button hole here in a moment and you will need it to be sturdy. With right sides together, sew a 1/2 inch seam around all sides except the wide bottom end. This is where you will insert the towel in a moment. Clip your curves and trim your seams back to 1/4 inch and turn it right side out. Give it a press and turn 1/2 inch hem up to the inside of the piece. Sorry, I forgot to photograph this.

 Insert the pleated end of the towel and pin in place. Then, stitch across the bottom. I stitched two times, right next to each other for extra strength. Then, I top stitched 1/8 inch from the edge all the way around.

It gives it a finished look.  Next, you will make a button hole. The size of the hole will be determined by the button you use. I recommend about a one inch button for this.

 You want the button hole to be vertical since this will be pulling down on it. This again helps to stabilize the top of your towel. Cut open your button hole, sew on your button and you are done.

 I loved how quickly these came together. I thought they would be perfect for Mother's Day gifts. If you have any questions, I will try to answer them in the comments. I plan to make a couple of sets of these for my daughters. I just need to find out what colors they would like. Have a great weekend. I will be back later today to announce the winner of my giveaway.
Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Friday.
The Winner of the #300 post giveaway is Carrie P. I will be emailing her soon.