Saturday, January 22, 2011

Pretty Dish Mats

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Last year I made this dish mat inspired by a post by Darby.  { See her full tutorial in PDF format right here }.  I've loved using my pretty dish mat - it's great to set dishes on as they come out of the dishwasher or for drying hand washable dishes.  A few weeks ago my sister mentioned that she wanted one.  So, like any good sister, I got to work and made one for her.
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Supplies for this project are simple - fabric scraps and and old towel.  I wanted to be able to make two dish mats from one towel so I planned the size of my dish mats around the size of the towel.
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Use a straight edge and rotary cutter to cut strips of fabric.  I used (3) strips cut to 7" x 20" and (2) strips cut to 3-1/4" x 20".
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Sew strips together using a 1/4" seam allowance.
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When your top is finished, iron seams flat to one side.  Next, I sewed a straight stitch across the top just to make the top a bit more decorative.  Darby talks about this in her tutorial in more depth.
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Place your towel and top right sides together, pin, and sew around edges with a 1/4" seam allowance.  Make sure to leave a 10" opening on one side so that you can turn your dish mat right side out.
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Trim around edges and turn right side out.  Press the open edges in so that you will have a neat, finished edge.
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Now sew all along the top edge of the dish mat using a 1/4" seam allowance.
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Dish mat is finished!
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The front looks like this:
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And the terry cloth on the back:
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After my sister's was finished, I decided to make another one for myself using up some fabric scraps.
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At use in the kitchen:
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Wouldn't these make a great hostess gift or house-warming present?
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Happy Saturday.....Hope you are enjoying your weekend and staying warm where ever you are.  It is a chilly 7 degrees here this morning!
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30 comments:

  1. Wow, great idea! I am going to be making one for myself probably this weekend!

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  2. Great idea! I can definitely handle making these, very cute fabric you used!

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  3. This is a wonderful idea! I will have to try it out!

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  4. What a great idea! I'm making pot holders for my kitchen, I think I'll make one of these with the scraps! :)

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  5. I keep thinking I will make one or two of these, but I never seem to get around to it. Maybe today will be the day! Thanks for the inspiration Alissa!

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  6. This is also a fantastic way to make a burp cloth that is customized for an expecting mom! My son was 10 lbs at birth. The cutesy ones that they sold in the store just didn't do the job well. A friend did this process with a towel and a second with a cloth diaper, and both were fantastic!!

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  7. What a cute idea! This looks like a sewing project that maybe I could do. :)

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  8. These dishmats are so pretty, so nice to have a little pop of colour on the countertop.

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  9. I saw this on Darby's blog too. I don't know how to sew unfortunately. I am signed up for a few lessons in February:) I love the idea of using the scraps. I have a little fabric left over from my window treatments in my breakfast area, perhaps this would be a great use for it. Thanks for the idea. I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

    Amy R.

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  10. I love that! What a great way to use scraps that us fabric lovers hate to toss out.

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  11. I just found your blog and love, love, love it.
    Heck, green is my favorite color and I love to craft and cook too :o)

    It will become a favorite, I am certain!
    Thanks for sharing - and having such a great format to do it in!!

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  12. Absolutely love this! Thanks for sharing. :D

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  13. You always make it look so easy! Love it!

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  14. These came out great - I really need to become a better sewer! You're inspiring me.

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  15. Gotta love a project you can make with scraps {especially Amy Butler scraps} lovely mat!

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  16. Great project! Love the fabrics you used too. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  17. Alissa, great project and looks so stylish! I love the fabrics you selected too!

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  18. Is that Amy butler fabric? They are adorable, and might be a sewing project I could handle!!

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  19. These are waaaaaay cute. Where do you find your terry cloth? Thanks for the great post!

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  20. Stunning! Lobe the fabric. And love your blog. I'm a new follower visiting from Well to Do.... We'd love to have you guest post sometime!? I will email you :)

    Cheers,
    Suz

    http://welltodoyou.blogspot.com/

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  21. My mother just bought me one of these. I haven't seen it yet, though. I love this idea. The two you made are beautiful... great colors. I love the idea of gifting these. Really nice.

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  22. Oooh, those are pretty! I always have to use one since we have no dishwasher :( This would look a lot nicer!

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  23. I'm loving your blog! I'm your newest follower...get excited!! :)

    Jaxandmarbles.blogspot.com

    Jacqueline

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  24. Gorgeous fabrics! I love them!

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  25. very cute!! and may I ask what kind of glasses those are I Love them and they would go perfect with my dish set I just got

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  26. i'm totally obsessed with your dish mats. so simple, so brilliant. who wants an ugle dish rag on the counter while the dishes dry?! not me! i'm linking to your post today:

    www.valley-mama.blogspot.com

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  27. Thanks for such a great idea for little gifts! Love the fabrics!

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  28. So cute! These WOULD make great gifts. I'll have to try some :)

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