Tammis Keefe Tea Towels

Embellished tea towels made with Michael Miller Fabric's Tammis Keefe Tribute line.

Have you ever looked at the price of Tammis Keefe Tea Towels on eBay?  They can get pretty darn pricey.  No worries.  Thanks to Michael Miller Fabrics, you can make your own Tammis Keefe tea towels!



There's really nothing to these.  On one towel, I made a tube of fabric, then pressed the tube flat and tucked in the ends.  I pinned it on the towel and edge stitched around all four sides.  I eyeballed the width of my fabric when I cut it, and made it about an inch longer than the towel (you want a little extra so you can tuck it under on the ends.

For the ruffle, I cut a strip about 8 inches wide by the width of the fabric.  I folded it in half lengthwise and pressed, then gathered the unfinished edge.  I pinned the ruffle onto the bottom edge of the towel, adjusting the gathering stitches as needed.  I machine basted the ruffle on, then serged it to finish the seam.  You don't need to take this extra step, but I love any excuse to use my serger!

What I really want to talk about here is the rick-rack.  Have you ever painstakingly pinned your rick-rack in place only to find after you've sewn it that it's gone all wonky on you?  I am here to help.  My trick?  A glue stick.

A glue stick: the ideal tool for adding rick-rack to your project.

I use a water soluble glue stick to glue the rick-rack in place.  It will hold long enough for you to sew it in place, yet while you are laying it out, you can reposition it as needed.

Here's the rick-rack glued in place and ready to sew.  I've left a tail at each end so I can fold it under for a nice finish.

Sewing down the glued on rick-rack.  It stays in place and is straight as an arrow.

Voila!  Perfect rick-rack placement.

There you have it.  If you win our fabric giveaway (starting February 2nd), you could make yourself some Tammis Keefe tea towels.  But, why wait?  Just go buy some Tammis Keefe Tribute fabric.  You know you want to!