A while back Fabric-Store.com had a sale on their linen waffle fabric. It's a very interesting thing...fairly stiff when it arrives, it shrinks variably and waffles up when washed. They have a tutorial on their blog for cutting two bath towels one hand towel and two washcloths from three yards of the fabric; I ordered an extra yard to get a total of two hand towels and 4 washcloths...which is what I always get when I buy towel sets.
I added an extra step after cutting...I serged all the raw edges. The fabric is sort of loosely woven and regular towels sometimes fray out so, an excess of caution prevailed.
(1/2" turned twice instead of 3/4")
Now, I don't like MAKING mitered corners, I like LOOKING AT Mitered corners, lol. They are fiddly and tedious to do...
But after grinding through four, I suddenly realized that those threads were gonna shrink when washed and I got worried that I'd trimmed them out too much.
But I didn't want bulky corners...what to do...
Finally I decided to trim a bit out, then fold the hems over each other like the instructions.
But I box stitched the corners to make sure to hold everything down well.
Hand towels:
And the bath towels:
The towels are still really big, compared to my Lands' End towels. I am actually standing on the hearth, lol. But...it needs the length. When I used them, my subconscious reaction was 'Ew! Cheap thin towels!' And I had to remind myself that they weren't thin, they were different. So the extra length kinda makes up for the lack of heft. They ARE really absorbent. And the miters seemed to have held up fine...after one washing, anyway. But the box stitched corners are way faster to do and there's no chance it will come undone.
So...it was an interesting experiment. I've read that the towels get softer over time. I may do a follow up report after six months or so to let you know if the opinion changes, lol.
I am going to label this as Home Dec, which is isn't, technically, but that's the best label I've got, lol.
Thank you for this report on making Fabric-store.com waffle weave linen towels. I have considered buying that fabric and really appreciate you sharing your experiences so far. Please do a six-month follow up! Inquiring minds want to know how it works out!
ReplyDeleteI will try to remember to do that, lol
DeleteInstead of soft towels, I prefer rough towels. Linen content is helpful. My mother also preferred rough towels, such as the ones washed & hung to dry in the basement because of blizzard weather outside.
ReplyDeleteThese are a bit on the rough side...at least at the moment. Not bad, but noticeable.
DeleteI'm thinking I may prefer to use them in the summer and use the heftier, warmer towels in the colder months.
I've been curious about how they felt when using them, how they held up over time, and if they discolored. I bought some of the fabric and made a small kitchen towel for my daughter but she never used it. I have a number of the narrow width tea towels and really like them. They are getting softer with each wash, continue to dry the dishes even when pretty wet, and then dry very quickly afterwards.
ReplyDeletei think it would make great kitchen towels. I have some of the cotton towel kits but haven't actually gotten them in the kitchen yet...
ReplyDeleteThanks for this! One day I’d like to give this fabric a try. I too like an exfoliating towel. So invigorating.
ReplyDeleteRobyn!!! Good to hear from you. And yes, these are definitely more exfoliating than cotton terry, lol.
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