Kitchen Towel Tote Bag DIY

Upcycle a pair of kitchen towels into a beautiful reusable grocery bag or fashionable tote bag.

It's an easy DIY and you can do it with just a few quick stitches.


Early last month, during the lovely long agos when we were still allowed out of the house for mundane activities like browsing through the linen aisle of HomeGoods, I found this darling rooster kitchen towel set.

I have an affinity for these towels and whenever I see cute ones, especially if they have trim, I pick them up.

Sometimes I display them in my kitchen, as pretty accents that no one is allowed to use.

However, more often than not, I run them through my sewing machine and turn them into something more fun.

Like aprons or pillow covers.

And that's just what I had planned for my new sweet little farmyard friend, when I decided he'd make a really cute bag instead.

In the store, I was sure that he'd live in my bedroom or kitchen - decorating my comforter or propped up on my new desk chair.

Unfortunately, once there I realized that the orange tones clashed with the red in my kitchen and didn't really go well in my bedroom.

But. I loved the colors...so springy and fresh.

I knew he'd make a great bag for the warmer weather months.

Since they recently outlawed all plastic bags in my county and I hadn't been able to shop for anything fun I thought it would also be a great opportunity to make myself a functional new fashion accessory.

Update! Check out my vintage style denim tote...even easier to make and just as cute. 

And I got started.

How To Make A Tote Bag From Kitchen Towels

Now I've never made a tote bag of any kind before, so this one was constructed on the fly. So the directions might be a little rough, but you'll get the idea.

Supplies:

Step 1: Measure

I started out by measuring how big I wanted my bag to be...kitchen towels are very large. I made mine 22" long, which is really large, but I wanted a big bag.

I folded the excess material over, onto what would become the inside of the bag. Then I repeated the process with the other towel.

Step 2: Pin And Sew 

Once both front and back towels were measured, I pinned them together, wrong sides facing out. Keep in mind the folded pieces were also on the outside.

Then I ran the two pinned side edges through my sewing machine.

I guess I could've used iron on tape to close up the seams, but I wasn't sure how strong it would be and since I wanted a functional bag, I stitched.

I also sewed some ribbon into the sides for handles. I used sturdy ribbon to support the weight of whatever I might pop in the bag.

Step 3: Flip And Sew Bottom Seam

If the bottom edges of my dish towels were plain, I would've pinned them and sewn them up the same way I did the sides. However.

Since the bottoms were trimmed with the cutest little accents, I wanted them to show.

So I flipped my bag right side out and used a coordinating colored thread and stitched them together from the front (or pretty) side.

Step 4: Add Fun Ribbon Accent

When I was done sewing, I spied a some orange ribbon in my stash and knew immediately that it would make a very pretty accent.

So I warmed up my iron, placed a little bit of fusible iron on tape down on my bag.


Then I placed the ribbon on top of it. In order to make sure I didn't get any {more} glue on my craft iron, I placed a scrap t-shirt over the ribbon and ironed it in place.


I added two strips of ribbon since I had the room and it was just super sweet.

When I was done, I had this darling tote bag made from two kitchen dish towels. I think the pack of two cost me $5.99.

A total bargain for sure.

It will pay for itself in a few short trips since I won't have to pay the five cents for a bag.


Best of all, it's washable and durable.

And I will look stunning and stylish wearing it when I go shopping.


Of course, they will have to open the stores first.

And let us leave the house.

So for now, we are just taking turns wearing him around the kitchen.

For fun.

In sweats.

Hmmm. Maybe I should've made that pillow after all.

😉😉

How have you been keeping busy?