This would be a good time to bring back on old subject about saving good towels that have had the edges unravel. This seems to happen after just a few washings, the towel is still perfectly good but the edge comes unsewn or tears for some reason and each time you wash it, it gets stringy and ugly. There are several ways to save those towels.
1. Trim off the ragged edge and sew a zigzag stitch around the new edge. If you have a sewing machine that makes decorative stitching, you can use that to make it pretty. Make it a wide zigzag, and medium length stitch and be sure to catch the edge with the stitch.
2. Apply bias tape, in a matching or contrasting color. Trim the edge, and using a wide bias tape, sew it over the edge. To make it a little easier, you can first round off the corners of your towel, that way there are no corners to turn with the bias tape. To round off the corners, draw around a coffee cup, glass or small plate, depending on how rounded you want to make it, and cut on the line.
3. Sew on wide satin ribbon or blanket binding. This isn't the most frugal idea but does make for a pretty and luxurious feel for the towel. Blanket binding is sold in packs in the same racks as bias tape or rick-rack, wherever fabric is sold. It is fairly wide and has a satin look to it.
Towels that have a bad spot, can be cut down into smaller towels or wash cloths and the edges trimmed as above. If you want to make them fancy add some lace around the edges. Look in thrift stores for bags of lace, or watch sales and use coupons to get some inexpensive supplies.
If you want to do some prevention on your towels, you can finish the edges as soon as you bring the towels home. Your towels will last much longer by taking these few simple steps of finishing the edges.
Edey
