You might think that you have to be fancy to enjoy using tea towels, but, you’d be wrong! If it makes you feel more inclined to purchase some, try thinking of cotton tea towels as oversized napkins or a more versatile version of the typical kitchen towel.
What Are Tea Towels?
The tea towel has been around for centuries, but what exactly are they?
A tea towel is traditionally made from a soft and breathable natural fabric such as pure linen or 100% cotton. It's large enough to dry dishes and wipe one's hands. While the dictionary definition of a tea towel is “a cloth for drying dishes,” its origin in 18th century England was to help insulate warm tea pots, hence the name “tea towel.”
The great thing about tea towels is that there are way more uses for tea towels than the ordinary kitchen towel that you use to wipe your hands or dishes with (or, in an emergency, swat flies with). You can still have kitchen towels, but let’s explore some of the varied uses of a tea towel.
Tea Towel Uses: The Typical Ones
Polish Silverware
Drying silverware with regular dish towels isn’t a good idea. You'll leave behind tiny particles of lint, and that's not even mentioning the streaks! Go for a thin tea towel instead for a perfect polish every time. You want to see your reflection in that knife, not lint.
I don’t actually own any fancy silverware, but my mom did and hers sparkled!
Line Bread Baskets
Tea towels are an excellent choice for lining baskets to hold bread, muffins, and other foods you need to keep warm. And, if you're giving someone a gift of bread, the lovely tea towel is any extra sweet surprise.
Photo by Anna Keibalo on Unsplash
Cover Food
If you’re looking for the perfect towel to cover your favorite bread loaf recipe while it rises, a tea towel can do the trick. Tightly woven cotton offers insulation to keep heat in and the drafts out while the yeast and gluten do their rising act.
Dry Fruits and Veggies
Tea towels are food-safe as long as they consist of 100% natural materials and contain no toxic dyes, oils, or softeners. That means you can use them to dry off produce or even wrap your greens to store them in the refrigerator.
Kitchen Cleanup
I’ve heard people recommend tea towels to clean up kitchen messes, but, frankly, that’s not what I’d use them for. My go to product would be a Papaya reusable towel. But, of course, you can also use them to wipe down cooking surfaces and countertops when you finish cooking for the day.
These ideas are pretty straightforward, but what about some alternative and creative uses for tea towels?
Other Uses for Tea Towels
Bowl cozies
My bowl cozy is one of the most useful items in my kitchen. No more burning my hands when taking a hot bowl of mush out of the microwave! Carolyn Fairbanks of Sew Can She has a wonderful post on how to make various sizes of bowl cozies. Such fun!
No sew curtains
Marty Walden of Marty's Musings has an easy to follow and very quick instruction for how to make no sew curtains. You'll need very few materials to make this bit of pretty home decor.
Photo by Egor Myznik on Unsplash
Placemats
Now, if you really want to do some sewing, head over to We All Sew and Rebecca Ringquist will show you how to sew some placemats.
Wrap gifts with tea towels
Though most Furoshiki gift wrapping techniques recommend using a square cloth, you can successfully wrap packages with a rectangular tea towel. No ribbons or tape required!
Photo by David-Olivier Gascon on Unsplash
Pillow covers
Larissa at mmmcraffts will show you the few simple steps for making a pillow cover with a tea towel. Some tea towels are just way to pretty to hide away in a kitchen drawer.
Drink coasters
Rather than repair that water mark on your lovely coffee table, make some pretty coasters out of your favorite tea towels.
Drawstring bag for gifts, supplies, etc.
My brother-in-law had someone create a bunch of drawstring cloth bags made out of tea towels one year. He and his wife use them to put gifts inside, saving on buying wrapping paper and ribbon.
Photo by Holly Stratton on Unsplash
Apron
I don't typically wear an apron, but I should given how much I slop food all over me when I'm cooking or baking.
Here's an incredibly simple method for making a half apron. I did find a few other sites that had instructions for making a full apron.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Flatware holder
At the Satori website, you'll find instructions for making a flatware holder. I made one of these to hold my various watercolor brushes, which made it handy to carry them around when I went outdoors to paint.
Napkins
Hop over to Chocolate and Zucchini for instructions on how to make napkins out of your favorite tea towels.
Veggie Bags
At Kitchen Counter Chronicle, you can learn how to make bags for holding fruit and veggies. The author recommends using 100% cotton. Natural fibers are best for storing food because of their antibacterial properties.
I include floral tea towels in my shop because they're a lovely addition to your home decor and there are so many uses for them. So, before you toss that old tea towel, consider repurposing it!