Recipe Card Kitchen Towels - Mama Say What?! (2024)

Back in the day, recipe cards were pretty much a thing. Now with the internet and Pinterest, you can find and share recipes quickly. No one really hand-wrote recipes for someone anymore.

If you are organized like me, you might have put your recipe books somewhere. On my computer, I have a list of recipes from my mother and grandmother that I typed out.

While cruising Pinterest one day, a pin fromSpoonFlower’s blogcame across my page, where the designer,Emma Jeffery, took photos of her grandmother’s hand-written recipe cards and had some fabric custom-printed using Spoonflower.

She would then cut out the pieces and sewed a hem around the edges.

The result was a spectacular heirloom of her grandmother’s handwriting and a great set of tea towels for her kitchen. She also made one for her mother to have!

This was inspirational, so I set out in search of my mom’s recipe box. It took a long time to find the recipe box, a while to find it, but I recognized it when I saw the 1960s-yellow-and-green-floral-contact-paper cover.

This box has been stored for who knows how long. It has been stored in different parts of my mom’s kitchen for the entirety of my memory. The book contains full recipes from my mom, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunts, recipe books, magazines, and other family members.

I went through to find the ones that were written by my grandmother and my great-grandmother.

When my great-grandmother passed away after I was born, my mom got her box of recipes. I could quickly identify her handwriting and discern it from my mom’s.

I already knew what my grandmother’s handwriting was, but I was only able to find two recipes written by her. I also went ahead and borrow recipe cards from my mother, dad’s mom, and other family members over the years.

I also grabbed some recipes that I wanted to try and test.

Once I got home, I scanned all the recipe cards my great-grandmother wrote out and set about arranging them in a nice-looking collage.

I included three recipe cards that were clipped from her newspaper. I liked the charm they added to the designs since I know she used to adhere recipes from the newspaper onto her 3.5″ x 5″ cards with rubber cement so they would fit into her recipe box and not get lost.

Next, I open Adobe Photoshop to delete the backgrounds on each card and adjust the color and contrast to my liking. Once everything was to my liking, I dragged all of them into Adobe Illustrator and set up the file to one-quarter the size of the full yard of linen-cotton canvas that SpoonFlower sells.

You can use other programs if you prefer, like Photoshop Elements, Publisher, PowerPoint, or online using Picasa or Gimp.

For the towels, I gave a little bit of blue edge and some red edge. The reason for the colors is that I knew coordinated with the kitchens of my mom and my aunt; the people who would be receiving these as Christmas gifts.

Once my file was done, I uploaded it to SpoonFlower’s website to be tiled, so four towels fit on one panel of fabric. You can do whatever way you like!

If you want a sample before getting the real deal, you can ask for a fabric swatch. If you don’t have time, you better pray it comes in beautifully.

In about a week and a half, I was super excited about my fabric. The print quality was better than I expected to be honest.

After putting the fabric in the washing machine and dryer, there was a bit fading. However, it gave the towel an “aging” look to the colored edges which enhanced the look of the fabric. Either way, the printing quality was not a big deal.

Next, you can iron and trim the edges to make them look neater.

With my iron, I created a rolled hem around the edges. Then I did a simple stitch all the way around with my sewing machine.

To make the Christmas gifts extra special, I gave two towels each to my mom, aunt, sister, and cousin, along with one of my favorite cookbooks.

This gift doesn’t need to be for Christmas. You can give these as mother’s day or father’s day gifts too. The best part about these towels is that once they are worn, you can make more printed.

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Recipe Card Kitchen Towels - Mama Say What?! (1)

Cherilyn Thomas

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Recipe Card Kitchen Towels - Mama Say What?! (2024)

FAQs

How many kitchen towels should you have? ›

An optimal number of towels for your kitchen should be the amount that you use between laundry days. If you use a few towels every time you prepare dinner and only wash once a week, you should have around 14. If you use one, keep seven.

How do you deal with kitchen towels? ›

There is only one rule of thumb that you need to follow to prevent your dishtowels from that stinky and smelly odour: Let them air dry after every use. Yes, it is that simple. A wet dish cloth sitting on your sink for hours (and generating germs) is a nightmare that you do not need.

How often should you throw out kitchen towels? ›

Rotating Towels

Whether it's for wiping down surfaces or drying your hands, this simple practice helps maintain good hygiene in the cooking space. It's advisable to switch your kitchen towels every one to two days, particularly those that are frequently used for hand-drying and may come into contact with unclean hands.

Why is there a loop on kitchen towels? ›

Have you ever noticed that the nicest kitchen towels have a nifty little loop, perfect for hanging on a kitchen hook? It's easy to add a loop to any towel yourself, making it that much more functional. Even better, this is a DIY you can knock out in all of a few minutes.

Where is the best place to put towels in the kitchen? ›

The oven door handle is a classic spot to hang a kitchen towels. It's convenient and easy to reach, making it perfect for grabbing a towel to dry your hands or wipe up a spill. A pot rack is a good way to add storage and style to your kitchen. It's also a perfect spot to hang your kitchen dish towels.

How many towels should a 2 person household have? ›

A traditional linen closet for two people will have six bath towels, four hand towels and four washcloths, Dillinger says. This provides a sufficient number to have in a rotation – so you're not buying replacement towels too often – and keeps some handy for guests.

Where to put wet towels before washing? ›

Jen's suggestion for a place to store those damp rags and towels was to buy a wet bag..... the type that you'd use for wet diapers and wipes if you have a baby. (They also work great for bringing home wet swimsuits from the beach.) Add a command hook to the inside of your cupboard door to hang the bag.

Where is the best place to store kitchen towels? ›

The best place to put kitchen towels is under the sink, where a towel bar can be mounted to the back of the cabinet door for convenient access.

Is it okay to use the same towel for a week? ›

But according to Sydney-based dermatologist Shreya Andric it's best to change your towel every three days to avoid irritating your skin or potentially cause infections. “If you shower more than once a day, then you might want to wash it more frequently,” she said.

What happens if you use the same towel for too long? ›

“Damp, used towels in moist bathrooms encourage microbial growth,” she said. “Although most of these germs are often harmless, some of them (including Staphylococcus bacteria) can cause infection and health problems, especially in people with skin wounds and immunocompromised people.”

What do you wash kitchen towels with? ›

If your cloths are white, use bleach when washing. Whereas if they are colored, opt for Clorox 2 along with your regular detergent. Make sure to wash on a hot cycle and allow the cloths to dry completely before using again.

How do I make my kitchen towels absorbent again? ›

Start by washing the towels in your washing machine using hot water and your usual detergent. Pause the rinse cycle and add between half a cup and one cup of baking soda to the water. The baking soda will act as a natural fabric softener and break down residues that might be impeding towel absorbency.

Why do chefs have two towels? ›

In many restaurant kitchens, each cook works with two side towels or stacks of side towels: some for dry work (as a pot holder) and others for wet work (wiping up the station). Wet towels conduct heat quickly, so you don't want to cross over and use a wet towel as a pot holder.

Why should you have two towels in the kitchen? ›

In many restaurant kitchens, each cook works with two side towels or stacks of side towels: some for dry work (as a pot holder) and others for wet work (wiping up the station). Wet towels conduct heat quickly, so you don't want to cross over and use a wet towel as a pot holder.

How many towels does a household of 4 need? ›

The grand total of towels needed for a family of four is eight bath towels, twelve hand towels, and 28 washcloths. For guest towels , add four bath and four hand towels per person, plus 14 washcloths (if you're hosting for a week).

When should I replace my kitchen towels? ›

How Frequently To Replace Towels. The frequency with which you replace your towels really depends on what you're using them for. "A good thing to remember is to replace bathroom towels every two to five years and kitchen towels and washcloths every year or every two years, depending on their quality," explains Wischnia ...

How many towels should a household of 5 have? ›

You want to make sure you have at least two bath towels, four hand towels and seven washcloths per member of your household. Depending on the ages of your household's members, you may want to invest in more towels as kids (and pets) may cause messes.

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