A gift from Australia…
All my regular readers will know how much I love to make gifts for family and friends. Especially if they are kind enough to let me stay (when travelling overseas). The gift has to be small (so it fits in the suitcase) and I love it to have an Australian theme. My Aussie Hanging Tea Towels fit the brief perfectly plus they are always a hit!
This isn’t the first time that I’ve made Hanging Tea Towels for gifts. I originally got the idea for making them from my Great Grandmother. When I was young I remember watching her crochet hanging tea towels. Often they were gifts for the family. My mum loved them because they were so useful in the kitchen.
Luckily my family feel the same way. I made them a set of hanging tea towels about 6 years ago. So I thought it was time to make some more. Sticking with the Aussie theme I went on the hunt for beautiful Australian tea towels. There wasn’t a lot of choice.
The next option was to make the tea towels myself. It’s something I’ve made a lot of in the past and quite easy. Really it should have been the obvious choice to begin with.
When I think of Australian themed fabric – Jocelyn Proust instantly comes to mind. Jocelyn is an Australian designer who takes inspiration from the world around her. In particular Australia Flora and Fauna. I admit I’m a huge fan of her work!
Last year I purchased some of Jocelyn Proust’s adorable Christmas fabric. That’s when I decided to make a few “Christmas” Aussie Hanging Tea Towels.
Plus you might have noticed the odd one out? Alpaca’s are not native to Australia. 🤭 But I had to make one out of this Alpaca fabric for my sister-in-law. She absolutely loves them and I can see why!
The great thing about these kind of projects? There is usually an abundance of free tutorials available online. This isn’t an exception. I followed this tutorial from Pinterest. Here’s one by Echidna Sewing.
Another benefit is Hanging Tea Towels can be made by sewers of all levels – including beginners. The hardest part is making the button hole. Luckily most machines have a button hole function.
I did make one modification to the tutorial. Instead of using flannel as a stabiliser (for the handle) I used Pellon SF101 interfacing. And to reduce any possible risks of shrinkage I pre-washed all the fabrics and interfacing.
I’m very happy to report all my family and friends love their Aussie Hanging Tea Towels! They all remarked on how useful they are in the kitchen. And of course how cute the fabric was 🥰.
