I am so excited about today’s DIY project: an easy, DIY holiday tea towel. I have my Mummu to thank, because she found the pretty embroidered embellishment I used.
My Mummu loves a good yard sale. She loves going to them, she loves having them – she’s even convinced my Mom and I to help schlep boxes of stuff to indoor community sales in the off season. At our last yard sale, I noticed my Mummu was downsizing some craft supplies and I scooped up a ton of cute stuff: some beautiful lace appliques, a vintage clutch I have a plan for, and this gold embroidered reindeer trim, which I used to embellish a DIY linen tea towel for the holidays.
Read on for the how-to to make your own DIY holiday tea towel (no sewing required).
Supplies:
- Turquoise linen (this shade of linen is really pretty)
- Embroidered trim (not similar, but just as sparkly)
- Liquid stitch
Because our local Fabricland was moving, they had some great deals on fabric and I bought some pale turquoise linen for 50% off. Using our own tutorial for how to sew a mitered corner, my Mom and I quickly hemmed a simple rectangle tea towel – but you can always buy a plain tea towel to embellish. See? I promised no sewing was required.
I didn’t even want to fuss with sewing on the embroidered reindeer, so I decided to try Liquid Stitch instead.
I had already washed and dried my linen, prior to sewing, so I was able to quickly get to the fun (and scary) part: gluing on the embroidery! I hand-stitched the two lengths of embellishment together so they would line up and be easier to manage, then I placed my linen on a flat surface. I put a plastic cutting board underneath, to protect my kitchen counter from any glue, but this adhesive is water soluble until dry so any drips washed off easily.
Following the directions, I shook the tub of Liquid Stitch well. I spread the glue on the back of the embellishment, being careful not to bring it too close to the edges because I didn’t want it to squish out. Once I had glued everything, I went over all of the edges and anywhere it didn’t seem stuck, I added a smidge more (that’s the technical term) glue using a toothpick to carefully apply it. I quickly pressed the reindeer down with my fingers and let it dry, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. You can launder this fabric after 24 hours. I will keep you posted on how well the glue holds over time – I am very curious about this Liquid Stitch.
I love how this turned DIY holiday tea towel out!
You know I’m not super festive over here, favoring “wintry” to “Christmassy” decor, but I do love the look of this glitzy tea towel in my turquoise kitchen.
If this seems like a heck of a lot of work (I hear ya), here are some cute BIY (buy-it-yourself) holiday tea towels that caught my eye: Black + White Deer Tea Towel | Gin Christmas Teal Towel | Illustrated Holiday Teal Towel
I actually bought enough linen to make two tea towels – any ideas for the second one?
Also have a lake house and always looking for ideas! So much you find is for beach and ocean not lake. So nice to find this page. Also LOVE the tea towels. Now I have to start googling to find those appliqués! Lol
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Thanks for your kind comment! And you are so right – a lot of coastal design is very seashell and beach inspired. Or navy/red nautical! I am so glad you found some ideas here!
If you can’t find a cute applique at a local craft/fabric store (or Etsy), Amazon has some too, like these snowflakes.