How to Make the Cutest Farmhouse Style Tea Towel

Do you enjoy a hot cuppa tea? Do you enjoy farmhouse style? Ticking fabric? Embroidery? All of the above? You came to the right place today, because I’ve got a sweet tea towel project for you. It’s super simple and super adorable.

Friends, we need our craft projects especially in anxious times like these (quarantining during coronavirus).

My sewing machine was busy this past weekend making a FARMHOUSE STYLE TABLE RUNNER and this embroidered tea towel. I’ve got all the steps for you to follow below, as well as the free template for the tea-cup to embroider. I do hope you give it a try!

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Supplies

• 13″ wide by 21″ long piece of TICKING FABRIC, with stripes running lengthwise
• small scrap of white linen or cotton
• NAVY BLUE EMBROIDERY THREAD & embroidery needle, FABRIC PEN
• template for the tea cup available for email subscribers (gain access at bottom of post)
• sewing machine, scissors, PINKING SHEARS, thread, iron
• optional – EMBROIDERY STITCH GUIDE BOOK

Sewing Pattern for farmhouse style tea towel

You will begin by making the ticking stripe tea towel.

Sew the ticking stripe towel

Cut a piece of ticking stripe fabric 13″ wide by 21″ long, with stripes running lengthwise.

Fold each long edge of the fabric in toward the wrong side 1/4″ and press. Fold each edge in again another 1/4″ and press.

Sew a seam down each pressed edge.

Likewise, fold each short edge of the fabric in toward the wrong side 1/4″ and press. Fold again another 1/4″ and press. (Another option here is to miter these corner if you have the skill to do so. It provides a nice finished look).

Sew a seam down each short edge.

Embroider the tea cup

Next you will embroider a tea cup on a white patch of linen or cotton.

Find a small swatch of white linen or cotton (about 5-6″ square or bigger if you’d prefer to use an embroidery hoop).

Using the tea cup template (access below), copy the tea cup onto the white fabric with a fabric pen. My cotton fabric was thin enough that I could trace the pattern by placing a printout of the template under the fabric. You could also try to free-hand the design using the tea cup template as a guide.

Fasten the fabric in an embroidery hoop if you’d like (and you have a big enough fabric piece).

Embroider the tea cup design onto the fabric using your favorite embroidery stitch. I used the back stitch, but I think an outline or stem stitch would also work well. My EMBROIDER‘S HANDBOOK book was a big help here. Clearly I’m not an expert in embroidery, but imperfection can add charm. The tea towel looks handmade and that’s the idea. 🙂

Trim loose threads.

Attach tea cup patch to towel.

The last step is to secure the tea cup patch to the tea towel.

Trim the white fabric swatch with the embroidered tea cup to your desired size using pinking shears. It can be a small square or rectangle patch that you will attach to the towel.

Next, place the patch in the desired position on the towel, ensuring it will be showcased! I chose the bottom right corner of the towel.

Pin the swatch in place on the ticking towel.

You will be using the zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine to secure the patch to the towel. I strongly recommend practicing this stitch with scrap fabrics to get the stitch sizing you prefer prior to stitching your swatch on the towel. I made sure to do that!

Sew the patch onto the ticking stripe tea towel using this zig-zag stitch, beginning at one corner and sewing all the way around the patch.

Trim loose threads and you’re finished!

Ticking Stripe Tea Towel – on display!

Now your adorable tea towel is ready to be displayed in a farmhouse or cottage style kitchen. Give it as a gift to someone who loves this style or as a hostess or housewarming token. It will remind them to Keep Calm and Have a Cup of Tea. 🙂

–>If you like working with ticking fabric, check out my popular ticking sewing patterns in my ETSY SHOP, such as this pocket apron! –>

Here I’m showing the finished tea towel with my FARMHOUSE STYLE TABLE RUNNER and an old ticking towel I made years ago (with a gathered trim embellishment):

You’ll need to download the file for the free tea cup template. Gain access by subscribing below…

I hope you will give this project a try. The tea towel is a pretty quick and easy project, and I think it will warm the heart of any recipient (especially a tea lover).

Want to remember this sewing idea? Post this farmhouse style tea towel to your favorite Pinterest board!