Sew a Cath Kidston appliqué tea-towel

• Machine embroider a monogrammed napkin
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• Machine embroider a cushion
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• Make a flower wall-hanging
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• Make a cube footstool
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• Sew a fat hen
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• Keep the pot hot: tea cosies to make
• Stitch a Union Jack felt cushion
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• Take a metre of fabric...
• Make pretty placemats
• Sew a Cath Kidston appliqué tea-towel
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• Sew embroidered Christmas stockings
• Sew some scented sachets
• Sew a personalised pillowcase
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• Make a felt snowflake Christmas garland
• Sew a mouse pincushion
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• Sew a tweed doggie cushion
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• Make a lightweight summer quilt
• How to make a traditional lavender bag
• Take an old tea-towel...
• How to appliqué hand towels
• Sew cushion covers for garden chairs
• Make a Sophie Conran handkerchief cushion
• Make a Sophie Conran picnic box cushion
• Make a Sophie Conran ruffle cushion
• Make a Sophie Conran button monogram cushion
• Make a Sophie Conran silk scatter cushion
• Make a Sophie Conran simple scarf cushion
• Make a Sophie Conran patchwork cushion
• Sew a pretty patchwork tea cosy
• How to cover a lampshade
• Sew a memory heart
• Sew a patchwork pin cushion
• Sew a patchwork-trimmed pillow case
• Sew a room tidy with storage pockets
• Sew appliquéd egg cosies
• Make Easter egg-hunt bags
• Sew Easter chick and bunny decorations
• Make a cross-stitch toadstool pincushion
• Create a cross-stitch lavender bag
• Create a tailor-made towel - with cross-stitch
• Create a cross-stitch coat-hanger cover
• Create a cross-stitch heart cushion cover
• Sew a personalised cushion
• Sew a heart button cushion
• Sew a 'home' appliqué cushion
• Make a patchwork throw
• Make a tea-towel storage bag
• Make a padded coathanger
• Transform a plain white pillowcase
• Make a toy bag
• Make an under-bed storage bag
• Sew a tissue box cover
• Make a gift-wrapping storage bag
• Sew a reversible duvet cover
• Sew a shell-trimmed tablecloth
• Sew a patchwork quilt bedspread
• Sew a beach-hut doorstop
• Sew an appliqué boat cushion
• Sew a Lisa Stickley bolster
• Sew a Lisa Stickley suit carrier
• Re-cover a chaise longue
• Sew a pretty drawstring washbag
• Make sweet-smelling lavender-filled birds
• Make a pretty cushion - from a tea towel
• Create an embroidered picture
• Transform an old jumper into a cushion cover
• Transform an old jumper into a hot-water bottle cover
• Transform an old jumper into a footstool cover
• Sew an ironing-board cover
• Dine in style: simple slip covers
• Dine in style: table runner and place mats
• Beat the chill: make a draught-excluder
• Sit in comfort: make a beanbag
• Sew a love-heart cushion
• Transform a teatowel: peg bag
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• Sew pretty padded hangers
• Sew a waterproof washbag
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• Create a drawstring-bag advent calendar
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• Sew quick and easy curtains: bay-window curtains
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• Sew quick and easy curtains: wave-pleats finish
• Turn a tablecloth into a Roman blind
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• Make a practical beach shade
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• Make a pretty bedspread
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• Getting started with cushion making
• Curtain-making for beginners
• Make a bow cushion
• Add appliqué to a cushion
• Make a gathered lampshade
• Create new-look pillowcases
• Sew decorative fabric hearts
• Make a doggie beanbag
• Sew a pretty knitting bag
• Sew a house tea cosy
• Sew a pretty cosmetic bag
• Transform plain bedlinen
• How to make a patchwork cushion
• Make a stylish cushion from ribbons
• Create a stylish fabric window dressing
• Make a bed curtain
• How to make a garden cushion
• How to make a gardener’s kneeler
• Make a pretty laundry basket liner
• Make a handy peg bag
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• Embellish a plain cushion with buttons and beads
• Make a ribbon-trimmed cushion and gathered silk cushion
• Make pretty scented sachets
• Make simply beautiful pillowcases
• Stunning silk curtains to make
• Brighten up your garden with bunting
• One cushion, four new looks
• Make a Roman blind

This plain tea towel with a striped border offers a great background for appliquéd decoration using nostalgic 1950s images.

1 Pick out your favourite images from a piece of patterned fabric and cut them out roughly. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, fuse them to the adhesive side of some fusible bonding web. Use a sheet of paper towel to protect the iron.

2 Cut each motif out with a curved line, following the contour of the image and leaving 6-10mm of plain fabric around the outside. Peel off the backing papers.

3 Lay the motifs out on a plain tea towel, starting with a balanced arrangement of the largest shapes and filling in the gaps with the smaller ones. Using a hot dry iron, press them into position (ill. 1).

4 Edge each of the motifs with a round of blanket stitch, worked with three strands of cotton embroidery thread in a colour to match the background (ill. 2).

Top tip: Make 15cm of spotty ribbon into a hanging loop by folding it in half, turning under the ends and stitching it to the top left corner of the tea towel with thread that matches the ribbon.

All of these projects are taken from 'Patch!' by Cath Kidston (Quadrille, £16) - buy it for just £11 from our online bookshop

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