I've always been drawn to vintage fabrics. I have a few tea towels and some hankies which are all fun to display. I currently have these tea towels hanging on an antique medicine cabinet in the guest bathroom, but they can be used in a variety of ways. Besides serving as guest hand towels, you could line a basket with them or even use them as dinner napkins.
When my Aunt Kay sent me a little surprise last fall, I was thrilled to find a beautiful vintage tea towel! I loved its colors and decided it needed to be used for something special, so I began thinking of ideas. Wouldn't it be a pretty little pillow? Fortunately I already had a small pillow which happened to be just the right size because I did not want to cut the tea towel in the process. A small running stitch exactly lined-up with the towel's side hems allows me the option of taking apart the pillow in the future without causing any damage to the fabric.
I often wondered how tea towels earned their name since their flat cotton fabric is far from the absorbent terry we use today. After a little research, I found out that they originated in England in the 18th century when woman used them to dry their fine china, crystal and tea sets that were not to be entrusted to the careless servants who might chip the fragile pieces. Additionally, these thin tea towels (also known as glass towels) could be embroidered and were used to "show off" personal handiwork. That makes sense because some of the towels that I have are edged with beautiful stitchery!
I think it's fun to use these old linens
and enjoy them.