Becky Striepe
Don’t throw away towels that are tattered, torn, or stained. There are lots of useful ways to reuse old towels instead.
A few months ago, my husband and I cleaned out our linen closet, and holy moly, y’all. It had gotten bad. We couldn’t open the door without a towel avalanche falling on us, and half of those towels were torn or stained. After sorting through and reducing our towel supply by about a third, it’s time to look at some ways to reuse old towels. Here are some ways I’ve reused them in the past and some options that look cool for the next linen closet purge.
1. Sew Cloth Pads – I made these cloth pads when I was pregnant with my son, and they’re still going strong, 3 1/2 years later.
2. Make a Kids Apron – If you’re working with a full-sized towel, just cut and hem before you start. This is great for towels that have worn and torn edges, since you’d remove them before you start sewing.
3. Make Rags – Since we don’t use paper towels in the kitchen, we have a huge stash of rags. The ones my husband made by cutting up our old towels are THE BEST! They’re the most absorbent ones we have. 6″ square is a good size for rags, but you can go bigger or smaller, depending on your rag needs.
4. Make it Fancy – So many towels get frayed at the edges. Fix that problem with bias tape!
5.Make it Usable Again – Hide stains and tears with applique, and add a hood. Because towels with hoods are awesome.
6. Create a Patchwork Picnic Blanket – Cut up those old towels and use the intact pieces to make a super cute picnic blanket. You can choose your square size based on the locations of stains and holes.
7. Use it for Free Batting – If you have a fluffy towel that’s just stained or even has a few small holes, you can use it as batting to make a small blanket.
8. Use it for Free Interfacing – Thinner towels work great as heavy interfacing.
9. Make a Rag Rug – Braid a plush rag rug from old towels!
10. Make a Planter – QUIKRETE is the secret to turning an old towel into a cool, organic-looking planter.
