Tea towels are ubiquitous in the kitchen, but they can be repurposed in so many ways. This DIY will amaze, because it’s the last thing you’d think could be fashioned from tea towels. With some easy-to-manage cutting, stitching, and ironing, a stylish box tee miraculously materializes.
A box tee typically falls just above your hip bone. Its shape is simple and architectural, so a bold print or solid color would work well. A striped pattern, like we feature in our tutorial video, conveys a uniquely French brand of chic, but there are many paths to a smart look with this DIY. The tee will be a wonderfully versatile wardrobe staple that you can pair casually with jeans or combine with something dressier, like a pencil skirt. The “TTT,” or tea towel tee will no doubt become your closet's triple threat!
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Materials
- Two standard-sized 18-inch-by-28-inch tea towels
- Tape measure
- Fabric pencil
- Scissors
- Several dozen straight pins in a pincushion for easy access
- Sewing machine
- Small cutting tool
- Tabletop ironing board
- Iron
- Two standard-sized 18-inch-by-28-inch tea towels
- Tape measure
- Fabric pencil
- Scissors
- Several dozen straight pins in a pincushion for easy access
- Sewing machine
- Small cutting tool
- Tabletop ironing board
- Iron
DIY Everywhere
Instructions
1. Lay out the first tea towel on the work surface, and fold it in half. Make sure the printed sides of the fabric are facing each other.
1. Lay out the first tea towel on the work surface, and fold it in half. Make sure the printed sides of the fabric are facing each other.
2. Measure 12 inches from the fold to the edge of the fabric with the tape measure.
3. Mark the fabric at the 12-inch point with the pencil.
4. Next measure 12 inches from the center of the fold to the edge of the fabric twice more. Mark the 12-inch points on either side of the centrally marked point. Each mark should divide the fabric surface roughly into thirds.
5. Draw one horizontal line across the fabric that joins all three of the 12-inch marks together.
6. Measure 4 inches in and 1 1/2 inches down from the fabric’s right corner fold, and mark the fabric at each point with the pencil.
7. Connect the markings with a curved cutting line.
8. Cut the fabric along the curved line with the scissors. Put that fabric piece aside.
9. Place the fabric so that the piece that was just cut away is on the lower left corner. You will be looking down on a fabric rectangle whose long ends form the left and right sides of the rectangle.
10. Trim away about ½ inch of the fabric on the right edge of the rectangle with the scissors.
11. Put the fabric trimmings aside, open up the piece of fabric, and lay it down on the work surface, patterned side up. Put it aside also for a moment, while you prepare the second tea towel.
12. Repeat steps 1-11, using the second tea towel.
13. Clear your supplies, and put down the pieces of cut fabric on the work surface, one on top of the other. The printed sides of each piece should face up.
14. Measure 8” from the top corner for the tee’s armhole.
15. Pin from the 8” mark to the hem on both sides and at the shoulders.
16. Sew along the pinned seams.
17. After you finish sewing each seam, release the fabric from the thread in the sewing machine with the small cutting tool.
18. Place the tabletop ironing board on the work surface and turn the iron on.
19. Finish the side seams and armholes with a “turn-and-stitched seam” by turning the seams ¼” in and pressing with the iron. Continue turning in the seams in ¼” increments and pressing until you’re finished.
20. Stitch along the pressed seam, adjusting the fabric position as you go.
21. After you’re done, cut the thread with the cutting tool so the fabric is released from the thread in the sewing machine.
22. Place the sewn fabric on the tabletop ironing board.
23. Turn and press the neckline ¼”.
24. Turn and press another ¼”.
25. Stitch along the pressed seam, adjusting the fabric as you go.
26. Cut the thread with the cutting tool to release the shirt.
27. By turning the shirt “inside out,” you’ll really be positioning it so the right side of the fabric is exposed and the sewn seams are on the inside.
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28. Put your elegant, self-styled box tee on and prepare for compliments!