Make Something Every Month - May - Making a Hanging Hand Towel for the Kitchen

A very small simple make for May as it is a busy time in the garden and at the allotment.  This month I've made something that I've been wanting to make for quite a while now.  It is a hanging hand towel for the kitchen.  I don't currently have anywhere to hang a towel from, so it tends to get left on the worktop which is a bit untidy.  I'd seen this item made by US bloggers and I've seen lots of them for sale on Etsy.  I thought they were a really good idea, but had never got around to making one.

At the end of last week I found myself with a spare hour, so I popped up to the sewing room and found some fabric from my scrap fabric drawer and a small hand towel from the linen cupboard to have a go at making one.  It was pretty straightforward.   The tricky bit was actually gathering the towel neatly and sewing it in place in the fabric handle part.  Eventually, I managed to do it successfully after a few attempts as the whole of the towel was not sewn in place at first.  It's not the neatest effort if you look closely, but I'm hoping that practice will make perfect in this case, as I'm planning to make quite a few of these.  One small hand towel cut in half makes two of these, so it is quite an economical make.  I actually got to make my first button hole on my machine whilst making this, despite having it for a good few years, as I didn't realise it had the feature.

Here's the finished result hung over the handle of the oven door.  It can also be attached to drawer handles if you have the bar type (we don't) and can also be hung from an AGA.  I guess you could also hang it from a belt on your person too if you wished.  I think it is a great solution for our kitchen and I'm really pleased with the results.