DIY Monogrammed Flour Sack Towels

This tutorial came about while I was trying to brainstorm unique Bridal Shower gifts for Hunky's oldest sister.  This is such a fun way to use fabric pieces that you may have been unable to part with in the past, as well as create something that is truly unique and custom for your own kitchen or that of your friends or family.

Supplies: - (most of which you probably have!)

• Flour Sack Towels
  I found the best deal/quality at Bed, Bath and Beyond
• Paper Scissors
• Fabric Scissors
• Pins
• Fabric Marker/Chalk
• Contrasting Thread
  For basting around your template - will not be seen
• Complementary Thread
  For attaching letter to towel - will be seen
• Printed out letters on computer paper in fonts you love in your desired size
  (Mine are all created to fill as much of a 5x5 space a possible)
  Here are the fonts I used:
             Corduroy P -The Truth of a Thousand Lies
             Blue P - Beautiful Every Time
             Bright Yellow P- Eccentric Std.
             Light Yellow P - American Typewriter
• Fabric pieces, leftovers, scraps large enough to fit with your template
  I used 5x5 squares of fabric that I loved too much to get rid of
• Buckram or interfacing to make the letters sturdy
  I used four 5x5 squares

You are now going to build your monogram.
Layer the letter template over your fabric, then your buckram (or interfacing).

Pin the pieces together then sew around the letter.
Sew slowly and carefully around your template.
I used a basic straight stitch which will help hold the layers together in future steps.

Your stitching does not need to be perfect... :D

With scissors cut close to your template.
To cut out the middle of the template you can either fold and cut with scissors or use a seam ripper.
Once you have cut the letter completely carefully tear away the paper template.

Here are two finished and two in progress letters.

 

Pin the letter to the portion of the flour sack cloth that you would like to attach it to.

Keep in mind how the towel may be folded during future use.

Carefully, using a zig-zag stitch, sew around the letter 1 or 2 times with the pins in place.
Later, remove the pins and go around the letter several more times, in total I went around 5 times.
Don't forget to sew around any interior spaces an equal amount of times as the exterior - in order to maintain consistency in the monogram.
Once you are pleased with the look then your towel is complete.
Go on to the next, then the next, and then the next!

Your completed towels will be beautiful, custom, and have a wonderful personal feel!
I hope some of your favorite pieces of fabric that you just can't seem to part with will love their new life as Monogrammed Flour Sack Towels!

The Best of DIY Wreaths

Perhaps you'll find yourself with a few extra moments this weekend and you'll try to put your own twist on these fantastic tutorials...

i'm a huge fan of square wreathes tutorial by domestic in the city

technically a spring wreath - could be super cute in winter hues c/o Avie Designs

book page wreath tutorial by living with lindsay

gum drop wreath tutorial c/o a pretty cool life

Save the Date Magnets - DIY Style

*For those of you who have a hard time with the fact that my fiance's name is actually not Hunky, brace yourselves. You are about to view the several mock-ups I created for our Save-The-Date magnets and I'm sad to say as much as I pleaded your case, Hunky just wouldn't go for having his oh so fabulous nickname printed on them... *

Please push play to start fabulous wedding themed background music... :D

I did a lot of research on Save The Date Magnets, and man are most of the options expensive! (Especially when you are dealing with very large families, which means a very large wedding, which means a couple hundred magnets) The companies are charging for using their design, the 2 seconds it takes to plop your photo in, for printing, and then shipping them to your door... which is all well and good, unless you're super budget conscious college students...

Bearing in mind that I am only 2 credits short of a graphic design specialization (AKA, I've taken a handful of marvelous Graphic Design Courses,) I thought I would take a stab at designing it on my own and save us a bit of money! Lucky for me, the girls of 430 Studios took some fabulous photos - which only left me to seek the perfect fonts and formatting! Here is what I came up with...

Hunky vetoed this one because "our hands look weird."

He didn't like that we were far away from each other in this one...

I just love this one, but it doesn't capture the essence of us...

Ladies and gents, we have a winner!
This truly shows Hunky & I in our element and also incorporates Malibu Blue.

I contacted every printer that I could find in the area to see if they even printed magnets and then for price quotes. We chose to do a 3"x4" magnet that was quoted to us for $1 per magnet. They should be ready in a couple of days and we are very excited to send them out - (despite the fact that according to theknot.com we are 1 month late sending them out. Whoops.)

I found these lovely Aquamarine Paisley envelopes. My favorite part about them is that they have a sheen to them - so pretty! I think you'll spend an obscene amount of time looking through everything on Paperpresentation.com, just like I did!