Sewing Project – How To Make An Easy Fabric Topper For Kitchen Towels
by Shelly Hill

If you are looking to make some fabric toppers for some of your kitchen hand towels, I think you will be pleased with this easy to make project. You can find inexpensive nice kitchen towels at your local dollar type of store.

Here is what you will need to make this project:

1 cotton kitchen hand towel
2 pieces of 6″ square cotton fabric
5″ square of cotton batting
large 1″ diameter button
8″ piece of cording or twine
Sewing Machine & Basic Sewing Supplies
Scissors

Place your two 6″ fabric squares right sides together with the 5″ piece of cotton batting sandwiched in between them. Using a 1/2″ seam allowance, sew around 3 1/2 of the sides. Turn the square right side out and hand sew the turning hole shut with a needle and thread. Set aside.

Find the center of your kitchen towel and mark the center with a straight pin. Using your sewing machine, run a gathering stitch down the center width of your towel. Pull the threads up so that your gathered towel will fit the width of your fabric square. Pin your fabric square onto the gathered edge (center edge) of your towel and pin into place. NOTE: Your square should be diagonal on the fabric and not placed up and down (diamond shape). Use your sewing machine and run a straight stitch down the center of your diagonal from corner to corner. Make sure you back stitch to ensure its attachment.

Finish your towel by hand sewing on a 1″ diameter button onto one corner of the fabric square and by sewing on hanging loop on the back corner.

Shelly Hill is a mother and grandmother living in Pennsylvania who enjoys quick and easy crafts. You can visit Shelly’s online craft site at http://passionateaboutcrafting.blogspot.com/ for free craft and sewing projects. You can find a photo of the completed project at http://passionateaboutcrafting.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-make-kitchen-towel-fabric-topper.html

Article Source: WAHM Articles

by Shelly Hill

As a work at home mother and grandmother, I often don’t have a lot of time to mend clothing when the need arises here in our home. When I did find the time, I often didn’t have the supplies on hand that I needed so I would end up delaying the mending of the clothing item(s) that needed to be repaired.

To solve this problem, I sat down one Saturday afternoon and went through my sewing box. I then made a list of everything that I felt I needed to have on hand to handle all of those mending emergencies. On Sunday, I headed out to our local fabric store and picked up everything on my list. Once I got back home, I sorted through everything and organized it.

The very first thing you need is a good sewing box that has organizational features. The one that I own is heavy duty plastic and inside is four lift-out trays. These trays all have removable dividers so I can customize them to suit my own needs.

Here is a list of the basic sewing items you will need to complete your sewing box.

1. Sewing Thread (Basic Colors) – white, black, brown, red, green, yellow, orange, tan
2. Needles – various lengths and tips
3. Straight Pins – one box of pins (I prefer rust-proof pins)
4. Measuring Tape
5. Scissors – I recommend a high quality pair of fabric scissors
6. Buttons – You will want to stay stocked with various colors and sizes of buttons
7. Safety Pins – I recommend various sizes in both silver tone and gold tone metals
8. Seam Ripper – Every good sewing box needs a great seam ripper tool.
9. Needle Threader – Even if you have great eye sight, a needle threader can save you precious time when you are in a hurry.
10. Iron-on Patches – I keep white, black, denim, navy, tan and brown iron-on patches in my sewing box at all times.
11. Fabric Glue – If you are in a hurry and need a quick fix, you can hem a pair of pants or fix a seam with a few dabs of fabric glue.
12. Thimble – Protect your fingertips and invest in a good thimble.

Now, if you are a seamstress, you should also keep on hand various colored zippers, zipper pulls, elastic (various widths and lengths), buckles, etc.

Once you sit down and go through your sewing supplies and organize them, you will find that you will tackle those home mending projects more quickly. Keeping a well stocked sewing box saves time and energy and your family will thank you for keeping their favorite clothing hanging in their closets instead of on your mending pile.

Shelly Hill is a mother and grandmother living in Central Pennsylvania who enjoys cooking, crafting and sewing. You can visit Shelly online at http://passionateaboutcrafting.blogspot.com for free craft and sewing project ideas or her recipe and cooking site at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for free recipes and cooking tips.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com