Making Dishmats

I saw a blog of someone making dish mats. I thought... brilliant! Great idea for those dishes that need to be hand dried or even those wet dishes coming out of the dishwasher. Because of my husbands profession, we get asked to many peoples homes for dinner. I thought, GREAT HOSTESS GIFT. So away I sew... and they are super easy to make!

2 types of fabric. 1/4 yard each (you will have left-overs too)

1 bath towel (I cut to fit finished top piece... each towel can make 2-3 depending on how big you make top piece)

I cut two coordinating fabrics. One 5 inches thick, the other 2.5 inches. (one only shown here)

Pin the two fabrics together, and sew a straight stitch. Sew at 1/4 inch.

Stitch all pieces together with a straight stitch. 1/4 inch seam.

With the towel and fabric, put wrong sides together, pin, and stitch a straight seam around 1/2 inch. Leave part of one end open to turn inside out. Press flat. Pin around piece to hold in place and to also close up opening. Stitch around exterior of piece with a straight seam. Then stitch between rows to give a quilted look and to hold the towel and fabric in place. Trim threads.

I've also made smaller ones with lighter towels for fancy burp cloths. Mom's love them.

For the dishcloths, I found cute dish scrub brushes at IKEA. So I wrap the brush along with a dish soap that matches the fabric and tie them all together with a pretty bow. Great gift for the hostess.