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How to Make Hanging Kitchen Towels (2 ways – Gathered or Folded)

You can never have too many kitchen accessories, especially if they’re all useful and unique, or if they combine two things into one. Like these hanging kitchen towels that are also pot holders.

You can hang one or more of these on your fridge and you’ll always have something you can quickly wipe your hands on as you work in the kitchen. And when you need to grab hot pans, you can just use the other part of the pot holder towel!

With the downloadable hanging kitchen towel pattern we have prepared for you, you’ll be able to make this hanging kitchen towel with potholder with ease. All you have to do is follow the steps in this tutorial and you’ll be over before you know it!

Below you will find my step by step written tutorial with VIDEO instructions for all the visual learners.

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How to make hanging kitchen towels

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How To Sew a Pot Holder Towel

Watch the diy hanging kitchen towels video first and then follow the written step by step instructions below.
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Hanging Kitchen Towels VIDEO TUTORIAL

INSTRUCTIONS:

First method: GATHERING the towel

There are two ways in which you can make these DIY hanging kitchen towels. We’ll start by explaining the towel gathering method first.

STEP 1: Fold the towel

Fold the towel in half so that its shorter edges meet. Press the towel like that with a hot iron. The crease that has been made this way will be the line for the gathering stitch.

You can also measure out the middle and then draw a line along it with a washable pen if you find that easier.

STEP 2: Make the gathering stitch

You can do this either by hand or by machine.

  • If you’re doing this step with a sewing machine, set it on the longest straight stitch available. Pull the top and bobbin thread away from the presser foot until you make a tail about 5 inches long. Then make a stitch along the crease or the line you drew.
  • If you’re doing this sewing by hand, just make a running stitch and keep the stitches about half-inch away from each other.

STEP 3: Gather the towel

Grab the thread on one side of the towel and hold it firm. Pull the fabric away from the thread to gather it. When you reach the desired gather length, knot the thread and cut off the excess. Do this on both sides of the towel.

The gathered towel should be equal in width to the pot holder after this step.

STEP 4: Fold the pot holder

You need the crease across the middle. If you don’t want to fold and iron, just measure out the center and draw a line with a washable fabric pen.

Place the pot holder over the towel with their right sides facing each other and the creases aligned. Use some pins or clips to secure the two together.

STEP 5: Stitch the pot holder towel

Make the stitch along the crease, flip the pot holder away from the towel

STEP 6: Sew on a button

Fold down the potholder loop to mark the placement of the button. Thread a needle and knot the end of the thread. Sew on the button.

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Second method: FOLDING the towel

Scroll to the bottom for the video how to make the hanging kitchen towels using the folding method

STEP 1: Fold the towel in half

First, fold the towel in half so that the short edges meet. Finger press or press with an iron to create a crease

STEP 2: Crease the potholder

Fold the potholder in half horizontally and press with an iron. You are doing this to find a middle on both parts so that you can align the two with each other more easily.

STEP 3: Fold the towel in three

Fold the towel in three equal sections vertically. Once it is folded like this, the towel should be equal in width when compared to the pot holder.

STEP 4: Align creases

Place the pot holder onto the towel, facing their right sides towards each other. Secure everything in place with some pins or clips.

STEP 5: Stitch

Make a stitch along the crease and make sure to reinforce it with some backstitching. You want the seam to be durable because you’ll wash the towel pot holder a lot over time.

Since the stitch needs to go through a few thick layers, use the right needle and a heavy-duty sewing machine if you have one.

Turn the pot holder half away from the towel and vice-versa. One end of the whole thing should be the pot holder and the other should be the towel.

STEP 5: Attach the button

As the last touch, sew on a button onto the top middle section of the pot holder. Use a big enough button to secure the pot holder yet small enough to pass through the loop on the holder.

Your new kitchen accessory is ready for action!

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Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 16 comments
Pallavi Ashish - October 8, 2020

i loved this project, will make as gift for my family

Reply
    Susie in the country - May 28, 2022

    Yes I love this project! I give them to family every chance I get (hope they find them useful as I do). I have trouble mastering my buttonhole on my handme down Singer and folding them is easy enough for me. Thanks for sharing the project♥♥

    Reply
      Helen - May 30, 2022

      You are welcome, Susie

      Reply
Linda - October 10, 2020

I love this idea, made lots several years ago for gifts, might be time to make them again.

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    Helen - October 12, 2020

    These kitchen towels make great gifts! I already started working on my Christmas projects

    Reply
Crystal - October 11, 2020

Love these and especially how you offer 2 options!

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    Helen - October 11, 2020

    Glad you liked it! I wasn’t sure whether to go with just one, but I loved both so here they are

    Reply
Shelbee on the Edge - October 12, 2020

These are so great! Hanging towels are so great for ease and for hygiene! Thanks for sharing and linking up with me.

Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

Reply
Jennifer Dynys - October 13, 2020

These are so sweet and give a nice vintage vibe! Thank you for sharing at Embracing Home and Family!

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Laurie L Cover - October 14, 2020

I like these towels! I have a few that a young girl made for me, and they are really nice! I can’t wait to dig them out to use in our cabin, once we get it built. 🙂

Reply
Marilyn - October 14, 2020

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Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
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Priya Dass - October 18, 2020

Great idea!

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Malin Sensational Learning with Penguin - October 21, 2020

Clever idea, and would look really sweet in a retro style kitchen. Although of course depending on colours and patterns used, they could fit into any decor. Thanks so much for linking up with #KCACOLS, hope you come back again next time! x

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Rachel Day - October 24, 2020

Great ideas. I always like my towels neat so thus is a great idea. #kcacols

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Roberta - March 6, 2022

how do I make these instructions and patterns printable?

Reply
    Helen - March 7, 2022

    You can copy and paste them in a Word document, remove what you don’t need and print from there

    Reply

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