Unpaper Towels

I decided to try making some un-paper towels the other day. They are cotton towels that snap together to form a roll like paper towels. I considered buying some for awhile now, but I am glad I went ahead and made them myself because it was super easy, didn't take long and I learned a lot.

Want to make your own? Check out the instructions below. Don't have time? You can buy some pre-made towels at www.onecleanmthfr.com.

1. Pick out a fabric design that will go well in your kitchen. These will be with you for a while, so take your time. I recommend looking for 100% cotton, bamboo or hemp fabric. You'll also need an equal amount of terry fabric.

2. Wash your fabric. You'll want to do this now, before you cut it or sew it together to make sure it doesn't shrink.

3. Decide how big you want your towels. Standard paper towels are 11" by 11" so if you want to use a current paper towel holder, you'll want to make your towels no larger than 11". Carefully measure and cut the fabric into the size you want.

4. Sew the towels together. If you are using a serger, you can sew them with the pattern facing out. If your are sewing with a regular machine, you will probably want to sew them with the pattern facing inside and then flip them inside out. I found that if your fabric has any stretch to it, you'll want to sew the two pieces together with the weave of the fabric going in opposite directions. I didn't think about this ahead of time, and now a few of the towels lay a bit crooked.

5. Add the snaps. Make sure the towels are all facing the same direction as you add the snaps. I didn't check this before and ended up with some that snap together with the colored fabric facing out and some snap together with the terry cloth facing out.

6. I recommend washing them again, just to make sure there's no loose strings - especially if you used a serger.

All that's left then is to snap them together and start using them!