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6 Summer-friendly Uses for your Floral Tea Towels!

Illustrated, 100% Cotton Floral Tea Towels, Designed and Made in the UK

 “It seems a shame to waste such pretty patterns on just drying up, so here’s some ideas for ways to use your most treasured tea-towels this summer!”

 

Summer is almost upon us, and if it isn’t the season for packing up picnics, al fresco dining and other foody pursuits, I don’t know when is! I was so excited to work on some lovely, 100% cotton tea towels that are the perfect accompaniment to garden barbecues and picnics in the park, and it seems a crime to banish something so lovely to the dish rack, destined only to dry your washing-up, so I decided to put together my favourite, summer-friendly uses for floral and fabulous tea towels beyond doing the drying-up!

All that being said, my tea towels are 100% Cotton and designed to remain rub and colour fast, so if you do decide to use them simply to add some beauty to your washing and drying up, they are still up to the task!

My Top Summer-Friendly Uses for Beautiful Tea Towels

Tea Towels are a staple in every kitchen, and though they can take quite a beating, I can’t resist the opportunity to make an ordinary household item a really beautiful one! It seems a shame to waste such pretty patterns on just drying up, so here’s some ideas for ways to use your most treasured tea-towels this summer:

  1. Wrapping up Gifts, Furoshiki style

  2. Pop it in Your Picnic Basket

  3. Serve-Up Sunday Lunch

  4. DIY Place Settings for Al Fresco dinners

  5. Wrap up your Fresh Bread

  6. Stash in your bag for emergencies


Read on for the full details!

1. Furoshiki Wrapping With a Tea Towel

A gingham and floral tea towel, wrapped in a Furoshiki style

Gingham Floral Tea Towel

Originating in Japan, Furoshiki is the name for a beautifully patterned piece of fabric, and also the name of the method of using it. A piece of square fabric is taken and wrapped around an object for wrapping or transporting goods. Whilst tea towels are not perfectly square, they can easily be used to emulate this style, and secure gifts, lunch boxes, or picnic supplies in a sturdy and beautiful way.


Use it in place of wrapping paper as a stunning way to add an extra treat to a foody gift, or save it to tightly and beautifully secure your lunch boxes or picnic supplies inside your bag.

2. Pop it In your Picnic Basket

A floral and gingham patterned tea towel, tucked inside a wicker picnic basket

Gingham Floral Tea Towel

Even if you aren’t choosing to use it to Furoshiki wrap your picnic, they are still a perfect accompaniment to your picnic basket. Use it to line your basket for a beautiful pop of colour that will stop plates and glasses clinking in transit, and have it available as a washable, re-usable means to mop up any spills or messes.

3. Serve up Sunday Lunch

A green and white floral tea towl, folded ontop of a wooden kitchen table

Coneflower Pattern Tea Towel

If you’re hesitant to add your prettiest tea towels to heavy-rotation, why not save them for less frequent occasions? A Sunday lunch, when the table is heaving with dishes and delights, is the perfect opportunity to use your most-loved tea towels to  protect a table from a hot dish, or place folded onto a hot lid to protect hands, whilst only risking the odd rogue gravy spill! 


4. DIY Place Settings for Al Fresco Dining

a black and cream, linework-style floral patterned tea towel spread out on a wooden garden table, used as a place setting / place mat

Linework Floral Tea Towel 

An ideal way to bring some colour to your outdoor barbecues, afternoon teas or other al fresco occasions! Use your most treasured tea towels as makeshift place mats for your garden table, or to decorate buffet tables of treats, then simply throw them in the wash afterwards for plenty of style with easy clean-up!

 

5. Wrap up Your Fresh Bread

 

a freshly baked loaf of bread wrapped in a green, floral, cotton tea towel

For a plastic-free (and, let’s be honest, satisfyingly rustic-looking!) means to wrap freshly baked bread, wrap your loaves in your most beautiful tea towel to keep it fresh, and keep it looking stylish on the worktop! The natural fabric allows some air-flow to keep bread fresh and prevent mould, but helps retain enough moisture to prevent it going stale for an extra few days. 

 

6. Stash in Your Bag for Emergencies

Possibly a little less conventional of a use, but handy nonetheless! My tea towels can be folded down to a pretty small size, (especially once they've been washed once or twice and are a little more flexible!) which makes them a handy and aesthetically pleasing solution to emergency spills, lack of hand driers in public bathrooms, protecting your clothing when sitting on the grass/floor, and a myriad of absorbency-based scenarious i've not yet dreamed up, i'm sure!

Tuck one in your bag along with your emergency tote bag for the future, you'll thank me!

 

Shop Illustrated, 100% Cotton Tea Towels!

Ready to put your illustrated tea towels to task now? Head over to my site to Shop 100% Cotton Tea Towels to pad your picnic baskets, style your summer barbecues and keep your sourdough from staleness! 

 

shop tea towels

 close-up of label on illustrated floral tea towel

Have any Tea Towel Top Tips? Let me know over on Instagram!