Kitty Kitsch

Well, I guess this blog doesn’t only have to be about knitting (although I likely won’t veer from that too often). After all, I take on other creative endeavors, as evidenced here by these admittedly kitschy kitty kitchen towels. I love them. The looks on their little faces, the smock dresses and bloomers, the nostalgic feel of embroidered towels.

I purchased the “blank” towels (you can’t see it here, but they have the traditional blue stripes on the other side) and the iron-on designs at Joann Fabrics. I imagine other craft stores, such as Michael’s or Hobby Lobby, might have these or similar designs. There is a plethora of artwork available with a wide variety of subjects, from flowers to wine bottles to roosters and of course, kitties.

The instructions also suggest using fabric paints to complete the design as an alternative to the stitching. I prefer the embroidery, and depending on your skill level you could use more complex stitches than the simple outline and chain stitches I primarily used. But as you can see, it doesn’t take anything really fancy to bring out the charm.

Now, according to the directions, the days of the week should have been worked in black thread, but I liked idea of “red-letter days.” So the lettering is in red.

The real question becomes, do I actually use them in my kitchen? Right now they are almost purely decorative. I have other towels I use for the “dirty” work. Every once in a while I find I’ve accidentally dried my hands with one of the kitty clothes. Gasp! But they’ve stayed clean.

Next embroidery project? Some pillowcases, I think. I embroidered a set years that have long since fallen apart, but they were special. It’s time for a new pair.