I've been seeing magnetic dish towels all over the internet recently. I guess these towels caught my attention because I am always looking to grab one and can't seem to find one handy when I need it so I thought it was a great idea!. By sewing a magnet into a simple dish towel you can stick it in a convenient place to grab it and then put it back when you are done. Pop a few on your fridge or dishwasher and always have one at you fingertips.
Here is what you need to make these:
1. A DISH TOWEL. I used these white bar mop towels from Target. This one is a 12 x 12 inch size. The key is to make sure your magnet is strong enough to hold the size of towel you choose. I customized my towels with some fabric. If you'd like to customize your towel you can click HERE to see how to make your own unique towel to coordinate with your decor..
2. STRONG MAGNETS. I bought these round ceramic magnets. They were the strongest ones I could find at the craft store. I tested them to make sure they would be strong enough to hold my towels up. For the larger sized towel I used, I needed two of the larger magnets. *These magnets are not waterproof so they need to be removed before washing the towel. I have seen magnets that have a casing (You can find waterproof magnets in pet stores that are meant to be used in fish tanks.) You can also find a special coating that you can dip the magnet into to make it waterproof but just be aware that the magnet will stick to the drum of your washing machine. For this tutorial, I used a velcro enclosure to take out the magnet before washing. If you get the waterproof magnet, you can just sew the magnet right in the towel and skip the velcro part.
3. SEW-IN VELCRO. You can find this at any craft/sewing store. Make sure to get the "sew--in" kind and not the kind with adhesive on it. Your sewing machine needle will get stuck in the glue of the adhesive kind.
4. A SEWING MACHINE OR NEEDLE AND THREAD FOR HAND SEWING.
Take the magnet and put it in the top left corner of the dish towel. Fold down a triangle of the towel over the magnet making sure there is an inch of border to place your velcro. You will be sewing velcro on one side and sewing the other side shut. This will ensure that you can open one side to remove the magnet.
Pin the velcro in place. Fold the towel to test that the strips of velcro are aligned. One of the strips will be the hook strip and the other will be the scratchy stuff that the hooks stick onto. The last will be sewn shut.
Slowly sew around the perimeter of each strip of velcro. I put my sewing machine on the slowest speed. When I get to the corners I lower the needle and pivot the fabric until I make it all the way around the velcro. Next, fold down the corner of the towel so the velcro is attached and sew the opposite side shut.
Now your towel has one side that is sewn shut and one side with a velcro enclosure. Open the velcro side and add your magnet. You are all done! Now throw it on any surface that will a magnet will stick to and there you go! When you need to wash the towel just pop out the magnet, wash, then replace the magnet.
In my kitchen, the dishwasher is the most convenient location for these. Man, I wiped it down before the picture but it looks like a mess when the light reflects off of it.
The side of the fridge is also a great place.
I also discovered another simple solution. A while back I posted about THESE wooden fabric clips. If you have a hot glue gun you can add a nice big dollop of hot glue to the clip and apply the magnet to the back of the clip.
Here is one of the wooden fabric clips. I glued two very strong magnets to the back.
Here is a side view. I probably could have been a little neater with the glue but I wanted a big gob of it to make sure it the magnet was securely attached to the clip.
Your dishtowels are always close by! These clips are also great for anything else you might want to hang. I made a whole bunch and put them on the side of the fridge.
If you are interested in any of the fabrics you see here they are available for purchase at my Spoonflower shop HERE.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Warmly,
Pam