How to sew beautiful kitchen accessories?
Lacking inspiration for your current sewing projects? Why not sew some accessories for your kitchen?
Here are a few ideas that will also make great gifts for your loved ones if you’re invited to a housewarming party!
An apron for cooking
Sewing an apron is a simple project that you can easily undertake if you’re just starting out. It will help you get to grips with cutting fabric and making neat hems. It’s also a sewing technique that can easily be adapted to very different fabrics: fine cotton, coated cotton, heavy denim, canvas, robust linen… Depending on your choice, the result will be more or less dry and have a more or less rustic appearance. Just bear in mind that a kitchen apron is bound to be washed regularly. So choose a natural fiber that will stand up well to washing. Don’t hesitate to use fabric coupons lying around in your cupboards, or to take anupcycling approach by reusing old sheets or any other linen you no longer need.
To sew a classic apron that ties around the waist and has a large pocket for utensils, visit the Made in Tissus website for a free pattern. In addition to fabric, you’ll need a strap or bias binding.
If you prefer half aprons, which are shaped like a skirt and don’t cover the upper body, you can follow Enjoy Couture’s pattern. To give it a more vintage look, you can add ruffles to the bottom hem.
Tea towels to have on hand at all times
You might not think of sewing your own tea towels, but it’s a super-simple project that’s easy to personalize. You can have fun choosing matching linens or printed cottons that go well together to harmonize the colors of your kitchen.
To sew those projects that will be in direct contact with the dishes, it’s best to choose GOTS cotton. We should also avoid fabrics that fluff up and could leave residues on our plates or glasses.
To sew tea towels, simply cut rectangles to the desired size. Commercial tea towels generally measure 50 x 70 cm. You can also use existing tea towels of a different size.
Then either overcast each edge or sew a clean hem following this method explained by Un Brun d’Iris on video. If you’d like to give them as gifts, choose a matching bias to wrap them carefully. You can, of course, personalize them by embroidering them, using different fabrics, or placing colorful bias strips all around the tea towel.
Lids for bowls
If you’re in the habit of keeping leftover salads or dishes in the fridge, bowl lids should come in very handy! They’re easy to sew, accessible to beginners and make a great housewarming gift.
To complete this project, you’ll need coated cotton and elastic. You can follow our home-made step-by-step instructions or Au fil de Léontine’s tutorial.
Washable squares for zero waste
To reduce your consumption of single-use paper towels, you can sew washable absorbent squares that can be used for cleaning, wiping vegetables, cleaning a work surface…
Sewing them couldn’t be easier! All you need is terry cloth and a piece of cotton, linen, honeycomb… You can also use the scraps of fabric used for the tea towels if you want to match the different elements of your kitchen. Cut two squares of fabric of the same size. Then assemble by either overlocking or sewing them wrong sides together, leaving a small gap. Turn them inside out, iron and sew a few millimeters along each edge.
If you’d like to give them as gifts or present them in a pretty container in your kitchen, you can sew a matching basket, as we suggest in our how-to video.
What about you? Do you usually sew kitchen accessories? Which fabrics do you prefer?
