THROWING IN THE TOWEL

                             THE LAUNDRY BASKET THAT INSPIRED 
                                        THIS TUTORIAL

In the  preceding post, which was dedicated to Janine's Birthday Celebration, I showed this laundry basket that made up part of her birthday gift from me.  All the interior items are loose so that Janine could place them where she liked and separate them as needed.  However, when putting the basket together, I wanted it to look like a cohesive set.  I included a variety of items which you can see in the following post, FRIENDS FOREVER.

Sab has asked me what I used to make the towels and so I thought that I should take the opportunity to not only answer that question but also to show how I made them.   It is not rocket science but there may be some novice miniaturists that may also be curious and perhaps this is a new technique for the old timers too.
(And I mean that in the mini way)
hee hee
*****

The towels

a package of baby washcloths

As I told Sab, I have been using baby wash cloths for many years and I think that they  provide the most authentic terry cloth for miniature towels that I have seen.  But I have also used infant terry Onesies, you know the kind with the feet built in to the pants?  They are good too if you are looking for a particular color that is not usually found in washcloths and yet the ones that I have sold the most of in towel sets are WHITE AND PINK.  Always.
This is a 4 pack of baby wash cloths and I bought them at the dollar store for
ONE DOLLAR
I emphasize this because that does not often happen anymore

The glue
I can't say that this has ever been my glue of choice for gluing fabric.  It always seems way too wet!
My preference would be something I haven't been able to locate for a long time....
VELVERETTE
This glue was a whole lot thicker and didn't seem to bleed through the fabric like this one does but this is what I have to use because I haven't found anything better
YET
(BUT I AM LOOKING)

(Well, what was I thinking?  White on white!!!!?)
(Too late, I'll just have to squint along with you.)

Lay out the square of the washcloth and trim away the sewn edge.  You want the fabric to fold without the additional bulk.  Then you will fold the top down to make the depth of the towel.
Mine measure anywhere from an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half.  Or 3 cm to 4 cm.
It can also depend on if you are storing them in a container like a basket or putting them on a shelf.  Make the towels fit the destination.  I fold my towels in Real life according to how patient I am at the time so they are not always uniform.

So you can see that there is a lot of glue on the fabric.  I am chiefly concerned with the edges as that is what will be the ugly parts of this.  I am not trying to saturate the towel but I want the edges to stay put.  So I glue the shape of the towel, I glue the leading edge and the fold line and the two outside edges and then I fold the top down and press.

Then I do the same thing all over again, by running the glue the entire shape of the fabric, forming a glue rectangle.

Once again I fold the towel over onto itself.  The tail that is extended is cut off just under the folded edge.

This is what it looks like on the back side of the towel.  Not so pretty but again the importance is to make certain that the edges are glued down securely. 

Now we fold in the other direction.
In order to get the stack, take the edge and fold it in towards the center .  Glue under the cut edge and then apply glue to the top of the towel as you see in the photo above.

This is what you should have by now.  If you looked at the opposite end the towel will also be folded so that both ends are nice to look at.

cut and glue down the cut edges
Press down with your hand to make sure that the glue is adhering to the cloth,  as it will reduce the bulk and also give the towel some "weight"

This is what it should look like 

The stack

What do you do with the left over?
Make a rolled towel

again
Same method as above but instead of folding it inward, roll it inward.  Use enough glue to secure it as you go. cut and press so that the glue adheres

This does not have to be a big roll but make it to suit the space.

Then add it to your pile.

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
I'm going to use the last little bit up!

For this little skinny strip, fold the 2 longest ends in to meet in the middle.  

First one length and then the other and press down to make the glue grab the fabric.

Then starting from one end, fold inward towards the centre so that it  looks like the photo above.

cut off the tail and do the next one

And add it to your pile of folded towels.  These are a good size for hand towels and add a little more variety to the collection.

The stack of towels 

Now let's make them special

I am adding a little bit of glue to the the underside of the top towel in the stack so that it will remain secure.  You do not have to do this but I am making this stack a twosome so they will not be separated.

I am using silk ribbon to bind the two towels together visually. If you are going to add a bow, then you can put the glue join on the top surface of the towel but if you are just wanting the plain ribbon, secure the ribbon with glue on the bottom of the stack.

(I tried to figure out how to turn this photo around but I can't .)
So anyway, wrap the silk ribbon around the towel and cut with some very sharp scissors and then use just a DOT of glue to keep the end down.  This glue will bleed through the silk so do not use a lot or you will be mad.
OKAY
THAT IS IT!
******

And here are some variations on the theme using a variety of different trims to make them more decorative and also adding linen labels.

And so we have reached the end of the journey once again.
I hope all of you enjoyed folding the  towels with me.
Now please excuse me while I RELUCTANTLY go and tend to the pile- up in the laundry basket.

 Not the mini one, the real life one!
(sigh)
I HATE DOING LAUNDRY!

elizabeth