I’m all a buzz, Nanette from Freda’s Hive is here
I am so pleased to welcome Nanette from Freda’s Hive to Make it Do. Nanette happens to live in my same town, and though we’ve never met in person, I feel like she is a dear friend. She is also an incredibly talented quilter. More than once, I’ve happened into a local quilt shop and seen a wonderful quilt or bag, and low and behold, it’s Nanette’s. She’s here today to share a tutorial for quick and stylish dishcloths. I need a few of these in my kitchen. Why is doing dishes is easier when your dishcloths make you happy?
A while ago I bought some white
waffle cloth. When I made dish towels last year I thought it would
be good to make some dish cloths too, but I ran out of time. I finally
took an evening a couple weeks ago to make these dish cloths and it
was really easy and fun. I’ve since found out that (of course) I’m not
the first to make these waffle dish cloths. Lynn (thanks Lynn)
let me know that Amanda
Jean had written about this on her blog too. But I thought I would
post about mine anyway. What the heck.
waffle cloth. When I made dish towels last year I thought it would
be good to make some dish cloths too, but I ran out of time. I finally
took an evening a couple weeks ago to make these dish cloths and it
was really easy and fun. I’ve since found out that (of course) I’m not
the first to make these waffle dish cloths. Lynn (thanks Lynn)
let me know that Amanda
Jean had written about this on her blog too. But I thought I would
post about mine anyway. What the heck.
You can buy waffle cloth from many sources. Hancock
carries it and Moda makes some waffle cloth too. You can also get
it here,
here
and here
among many sources. It comes in several colors and textures/patterns.
Lynn and the Amanda Jean post let me know that it is best to wash the
waffle cotton BEFORE sewing into dish cloths. Unfortunately I didn’t
think of that before hand and haven’t washed mine yet but I’ll
certainly prewash before making my next batch of dish cloths.
I used my 9 1/2″ template to cut the waffle cloth into
squares.
I’m always looking for ways to use “left overs”. I used
extra Jelly Roll strips from from the Moda
Sweet line. Don’t we all have extra Jelly Roll strips hanging
around? Yes. The 2 1/2″ strips worked out just great. There was enough
length to join the ends of the binding with a bit to spare.
I just sewed the strip on the waffle cloth like regular
quilt binding.
Then I pressed the binding flat and then pressed it
folded over to the back of the cloth.
I top stitched some of the binding, stitching on the
front so that it caught the binding on the back of the dish cloth.
And some of the dish cloths I stitched in the ditch,
catching the stitching on the back of the binding. I think either one
worked well and it would be a personal preference which method to use.
This is a view from the back where you can see the
stitching is close to the edge and does tack the binding in place.
Here is another view from the back. It was an easy project and it makes a very simple and
inexpensive gift. I used them last weekend to give to my sisters and
friends along with some great smelling countertop spray I bought on
sale here.
And no, I didn’t pay the price they have listed.
carries it and Moda makes some waffle cloth too. You can also get
it here,
here
and here
among many sources. It comes in several colors and textures/patterns.
Lynn and the Amanda Jean post let me know that it is best to wash the
waffle cotton BEFORE sewing into dish cloths. Unfortunately I didn’t
think of that before hand and haven’t washed mine yet but I’ll
certainly prewash before making my next batch of dish cloths.
I used my 9 1/2″ template to cut the waffle cloth intosquares.
I’m always looking for ways to use “left overs”. I usedextra Jelly Roll strips from from the Moda
Sweet line. Don’t we all have extra Jelly Roll strips hanging
around? Yes. The 2 1/2″ strips worked out just great. There was enough
length to join the ends of the binding with a bit to spare.
I just sewed the strip on the waffle cloth like regularquilt binding.
Then I pressed the binding flat and then pressed itfolded over to the back of the cloth.
I top stitched some of the binding, stitching on thefront so that it caught the binding on the back of the dish cloth.
And some of the dish cloths I stitched in the ditch,catching the stitching on the back of the binding. I think either one
worked well and it would be a personal preference which method to use.
This is a view from the back where you can see thestitching is close to the edge and does tack the binding in place.
Here is another view from the back. It was an easy project and it makes a very simple andinexpensive gift. I used them last weekend to give to my sisters and
friends along with some great smelling countertop spray I bought on
sale here.
And no, I didn’t pay the price they have listed.
-nanette
Thanks for the tutorial! The dishcloths are very cute. And using barrettes to hold down the binding is GENIUS. I can’t wait to try it myself!
Very cute! Thanks for the tutorial Nanette! I always love your projects. I would really love to make some of these soon.
These are such pretty dishcloths, I’d be afraid to use them on anything really dirty! I love the fabrics you edged them with!!
I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-quick-and-stylish-dishcloths/2010/05/19/
–Anne
thanks for the tute!! these are precious!!
luv ur web site
thanks for this great tutorial Nanette, and for the linkies for where to buy waffle cloth! I love how happy your washcloths are!
How about on your gorgeous dishcloths stitching several layers (one on top of each other) of the nylon mesh from the fruit and or onion bags in a square on the dishcloth and that makes for a wonderful scrubbing area when doing your dishes – works a treat and is recycling too!