Ruffled Kitchen Towel tutorial

I love this kitchen/guest bathroom towel made with the Sweetwater Hometown line.  They have a great tutorial for it on their blog, Make Life Sweet.  The instructions are in their post, The Fair, at the very bottom, scroll all the way to the end.    

When I finished the towel according to their measurements, it kept falling off the chair.  The weight of the ruffles were pulling it down.   I decided to make an adjustment to accommodate for the heaviness of the ruffles.   I lengthened the main piece from 22 inches long to 30 inches inches long. (pictured above)

My adjustments in the size of the towel:

Cut main piece:  18 in. x 30 in.

Finished product:  16 1/2" x 28 1/2".

Creates towel to be folded in 1/2,  pictured above.

Next time, I want to try making it 2 inches wider, so main piece cut would be: 20 in. x 30 in.

The following is the tutorial from Sweetwater's post, but I've made the adjustments to make the size towel highlighted above.  

RUFFLE KITCHEN TOWEL tutorial 

What You Need:
Canvas Twill Fabric - 18" x 30"   
Ruffle - 3 Prints 2 1/2" x 36" each
3/8" wide cotton twill tape - 1 1/2 yard ( Joann Fabrics)

1.  Cut Canvas Twill fabric 18" x 30"  (I prefer the heaviness of the canvas for a towel)
 

Ruffles - 2 1/2" x 36"
 

2.  On one long side of each ruffle turn under 1/4" and press.
3.  Turn again 1/4" and press.
4.  Machine topstitch the hem in place.
 

5.  On the other long side sew a gathering stitch close to the raw edge.
(set your stitch length to the longest stitch)
6.  Sew another gathering stitch close to the first row of stitches.

 
7.  Pull up the threads to gather the raw edge.
8.  Your ruffle will need to measure 18" across.

**Skip steps 5 - 8 and use THE FISHING LINE METHOD for a faster, easier way to make ruffles.** 

Ruffle Placement
9.  Pin the bottom hemmed edge of the bottom ruffle to the towel positioned 1" from the raw edge of the towel.
 

10.  Place the twill tape over the raw edges of the ruffle and topstitch close to each side of the twill tape.  The raw edges of the ruffle will be under the twill tape and will not show.

 


11.  Position the hemmed edge of the middle ruffle 1" from the bottom ruffle.
12.  Sew the twill tape over the raw edges of the ruffle.
13.  Position the hemmed edge of the top ruffle 1" from the middle ruffle.
14.  Sew the twill tape over the raw edge of the ruffle.  
 

Side&Bottom Hems
15.  Turn under the sides and bottom edges of the towel 1/4" and press.
16.  Turn under again and press.
17.  Miter the corners.
18.  Topstitch close to the turned under edges.