Manalto

I have a nice, white 100% linen shirt that I tore on a nail. Linen is great for absorbing water so I thought I could make a hand towel or two out of the shirt fabric for the kitchen. Then I thought if I quilted it with raw edges there would be even more absorbency. Your thoughts?

sewingpup

I wonder how the raw edges would hold up over time? Hand towels get a lot of use and washing and drying.

Manalto

I wondered the same. Maybe zigzag the seams or two rows of stitching would help? If it doesn't last terribly long, that's OK. I hope it compensates in efficiency for what it lacks in longevity. I won't invest a whole lot of time in its construction.

I came up with this idea when I stepped away from the kitchen sink with no towel available. I grabbed the torn linen shirt and, before I could wipe my hands, the crumpled shirt had already drunk up all the water on my hands. I like that efficiency.

I'd like to make the towel so that there are raw edges on both sides, so a quick grab of the towel produces dried-off hands. That's the idea anyway.

Tartan

I might put 2 layers together and then run a couple of rows of stitches around the edges about 1/4 inch in from the edge. The stitching should prevent the towel from fraying passed the stitches.

Lena1952

In my humble opinion, you have nothing to lose by trying it the way you planned. I once used spray oven cleaner on a pair of jeans I had gotten paint on. My theory was: the jeans were already ruined so why not try it. The paint came out without harm and the jeans were worn for many years. On your towel, to keep it from continual fraying I would add a line of machine stitching around the towel.

RedGarnet222

I have a set of linen towels that the edges are frayed. They are tied and then braided into a design, so the edges do not continue to lose threads.

Manalto

Thanks for your responses. I put together 20 (five rows of four) rectangles so the towel would be a rectangle. Seams were a narrow zigzag with a short stitch and alternated so there would be raw edges on both sides of towel. On the ends I used the cuff hems from the shirt. (It was a short sleeve shirt.) On the long edges I made exposed seams, that is, folded over only once. It's been through the washing machine once and there are a lot of loose threads. Once those are trimmed, I think it should be pretty stable.