What you will learn
To choose and match pretty colors.
To do some hand basting.
To stitch a seam.
To top-stitch (stitching one piece of material on top of another).
To stitch straight by following a line in the design of the material.
What you will do first
You will need to go shopping with your mother to buy the towels, washcloths, shoestrings, and thread.
Two plain-colored, terry cloth finger towels.
One striped or checked washcloth (the design will be your guide in stitching).
One pair of plain colored shoestrings—27 inches long.
Two spools of thread; 1 to match stripes and shoestrings and 1 to match the towels.
You will also need these tools from your sewing box:
Large shears Pins and pincushion Thimble Paper bag 21-inch ruler Needle Scissors
Take another good peek at what your placemat will look like when you are finished ([page 18]). In order to clearly show how you will stitch the washcloth to the towel, a plain washcloth is used in the illustrations instead of a checked or striped one like you will be using in your project.
Start with the washcloth
Fold the washcloth in half with the stripes running up and down. Then pin the open edges together with 3 or 4 pins.
Use shears to cut through the fold of the washcloth to cut it in half. (Your leader will show you how to handle the shears so that you can take long, even cutting strokes.)
Fold each half washcloth again to find the center. Mark the center with a pin at the cut edge and on the hem edge.
Get the towels ready
Find the center of the towels by folding each in half—crosswise and right side out. (If you do not recognize the right side of the towel, ask your leader to help you.)
Mark the center of each towel with pins, as you did the washcloth. But since the towel is bigger than the washcloth, you will need at least three pins on the fold to mark the center line. Also insert a row of pins on the right side of the towel, ½ inch from the lower hem of the towel.
Sew the washcloth and towel together
Find the place for the washcloth on the towel by matching the center of the washcloth with the center of the towel. Then bring the cut edge of the washcloth up to the row of pins.
Pin the washcloth in place as shown in the illustration. Sew a hand-basting stitch along the hem of the towel to hold the washcloth in place when stitching it with the sewing machine. Since many of you have never sewn by hand, your leader will give you a special demonstration on how to thread the needle and baste. Try to keep the stitches about ¼ inch in length.
Stitch the washcloth to the towel from the wrong side of the towel. You will be making a ¼ inch seam, or you might stitch just to the inside of the hem. Your leader will show you where your stitching line looks best.
Adjust the stitch regulator to sew backward. If your sewing machine cannot be adjusted to go in reverse, raise your presser foot slightly above the fabric at the edge of the washcloth and take 4 or 5 stitches. The fabric will not move but the thread will become knotted and fastened.
Lower the needle into the towel at a point ¼ inch from the side hem of the washcloth. Keep both threads to the back of the presser foot. Then lower the presser foot.
Start to use the machine by turning the fly wheel by hand until the needle reaches the edge of the washcloth. Adjust the stitch regulator so the machine will sew forward again—12 stitches per inch. Stitch (using electricity) until you reach the other side of the washcloth.
Readjust the regulator for backstitching, and hand turn the flywheel as you did on the other side of the seam, or if you do not have this regulator, again raise the presser foot very slightly and turn the flywheel 4 or 5 stitches to knot the thread.
Sew pockets into the washcloth
Fold the washcloth up onto the towel, hiding the seam which you just finished. Pin the washcloth in place, as shown in the illustration.
Stitch the side edges into place. If the hem on the washcloth is heavy, ask your leader to show you how to stitch just inside the hem to avoid bulk. If the hem is not heavy, stitch close to the edge by having the edge of the washcloth follow along the inside edge of the presser foot.
Pockets for the placemat or traveling kit are made by stitching the washcloth to the towel as shown in the illustration below.
To make the placemat, place a napkin, knife, fork, and spoon on the washcloth to give you an idea about the size of the pockets needed.
To make the traveling kit, choose the articles you would like to take and place them on the placemat.
Choose the stripes or checks nearest to the size pocket needed for each article; they will be your guide for stitching. Pin the washcloth to the towel along these stripes to make the pockets which you will stitch later. Slip the articles you want them to hold into the pockets to be sure you have left enough room for them. If everything slips into position easily, you are ready to sew. If not, the pockets can be made bigger by moving the pins to another stripe.
When you have decided which stripe you will use for each pocket, begin by backstitching at the lower seam and stitch up to the top of the washcloth. Backstitch again. One—two—three rows of stitching—and your pockets are finished!
Attach the tie to the towel
If the shoestring is very different in color from the towel, change the spool of thread to the color which matches the shoestring. Fold the shoestring in half. Pin the midpoint of the string to the towel at the point marked in the picture.
Fasten the string with very small stitches, by sewing back and forth across the width. Then clip threads close to the stitching line.
Finish your project
If you made a placemat insert a napkin, knife, fork, and spoon into the pockets. Or if you made a traveling kit, put your toilet articles or brushes in the pockets. Fold the upper edge down to cover the items. Then roll up the towel from the right to the left. Wrap the shoestring around it and tie it into a pretty bow. Your simple towel, washcloth, and shoestring have changed into barbecue placemats ... or a useful traveling kit!
