A STEM Project: Making a Potholder and a Tea Towel using TurtleStitch

A Tea Towel and a Potholder made using TurtleStitch created designs

This blog posting is for reference as to the possibilities of creating designs in TurtleStitch and using them in every day items.

I took a previous design that I had traced in TurtleStitch, https://papercraftetc.blogspot.com/2023/02/a-stem-projectcreating-embroidered.html and I machine and hand embroidered the design onto two different fabrics which became a potholder and a tea towel. 

Potholder Design

The potholder is a 9 inch x 9 inch piece of polyester/cotton fabric backed with Pellon TP971F fusible interfacing.  The design was machine embroidered and then cut to its final size of 7 inch x 7 inch. The reason for cutting the design to its correct size after embroidering allows for adjusting the design if it is not exactly square in the embroidery frame. I hand embroidered the potholder with French knots and the satin stitches for the flowers and stem stitches for the stems.

I made a quilting design for the back of the potholder. Again I took a 9 inch x 9 inch piece of polyster/cotton fabric and backed it with Pellon TP971F fusible interfacing.  I programmed a Sashiko design called Tate-Waku or Rising Steam in TurtleStitch.  It is a gently curved line paired with its mirror image. Here is the code that I used, https://www.turtlestitch.org/run#cloud:Username=Elaine&ProjectName=Pot%20Holder%20Quilt%20Pattern%20for%205%20x%207%20Hoop

Sashiko Tate-Waku or Rising Steam is an embroidery design that is typically used for the backing of potholders.

The square on the left is the Sashiko Tate-Waku design which was cut to 7 inches x 7 inches.  The designs were placed with their backs together and double fold bias tape was sewn around the edges starting at the top left of the square.  After the four side have been sewn, the bias tape is sewn together and then a loop is made.  The loop is sewn to the back of the left corner.

Completed Potholder

Tea Towel Design

The finished tea towel is approximately 14 inches x 24 inches.  A piece of polyester/cotton fabric was cut to 18 inches by 28 inches.  The design was machine embroidered with tear away stabilizer and then cut to 16 inches by 26 inches to align the design correctly.

The tea towel was then created by folding and ironing the edges.  The left and right edges were folded and ironed twice by a 1/2 inch. The ironed seam was then sewn with a sewing machine at the folded edge.  The top and bottom sides were folded and ironed by one inch twice. The ironed seam was then sewn with a sewing machine at the folded edge.  After the tea towel was sewn, I then hand embroidered the tea towel with French knots and the satin stitches for the flowers and stem stitches for the stems to complete its embellishments.

Completed Tea Towel