Sew Cute: Donut Tea Towel

Donuts are having a moment, and I for one could not be happier. Not only are they absolutely delicious, but they’re pretty darn adorable as well. It makes sense that the pastries are popping up all over the place as the inspiration for everything from pillows to necklaces—and that’s not to mention the rise of the cronut, the wonut and other such tasty inventions.

My contribution to the sugary craze is a colorful tea towel, complete with a hand-stitched appliqué of the dessert du jour. This project is so simple to put together—you essentially just layer pieces of fabric—but I find the result incredibly charming. Tea towel plus donut might just equal my favorite donut hybrid yet!

Materials:

• Tea towel in a color of your choice (it can be plain or patterned)
• Tan fabric
• Pink fabric
• Tan thread
• Pink thread
• Thread in a few different bright colors (these will make the sprinkles)
• Basic sewing needle
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Measuring tape
• Paper to make templates
• Pencil

Craft away:

• Draw two circles onto the paper, 3-inches wide. Add a 3/4-inch wide circle to the centers of the circles. Cut out both shapes, and trim away the circle in the center of the shapes to make two donut templates.
• Draw wavy lines inside the edges of one of the donut templates, and trim the shape down again along those lines to make the frosting template.

• Trace the donut template onto the tan fabric, and cut out the shape.
• Trace the frosting template onto the pink fabric, and cut out the shape.

• Draw a series of small lines onto the pink fabric.
• Stitch over the lines using the needle and the brightly colored thread, varying the colors to give the effect of sprinkles. You can use a basic straight stitch for this step.

• Pin the pink fabric to the tan fabric, lining up the holes.
• Stitch the pink fabric to the tan fabric with the pink thread. Use a looping motion, and keep your stitches close together to give the look of a solid line. Leave the inside of the hole unstitched for now.

• Pin the donut to one end of the tea towel, about 2-inches up from the edge. Make sure the appliqué is on the front of the towel, and centered.
• Use the tan thread to stitch the donut to the towel, working around the outside edge of the shape. Use the same looping motion as before, and keep your stitches close together.

• Use the pink thread to stitch around the edges of the hole in the center of the appliqué.
• You’re finished! Hang your adorable new towel in your kitchen, or display it as part of the table setting for your afternoon tea.