Kmart/Estienne Carla Meyer
Think drying dishes is the only use for a tea towel? Think again. We have several tea towel hacks that will transform the look of your home.
Australian women have been flocking to Facebook Kmart groups to share photos of their genius craft creations using tea towels from the retail giant. From wall art and cushions to reupholstered chairs and dresses, the tea towels have been hacked into all manner of homewares, clothes, and accessories.
Here are 7 ways a tea towel can elevate your space.
1. Wall hanging
Adelaide mum Tam Mee-Sims used the highland cow tea towel to create a wall hanging.
“The hack cost $3, not including the jute rope I already had at home. It only took about 10 minutes to make and was super easy,” she said.
2. Pin board
The highland cow tea towel was also a big drawcard for Crib Point mum Emma Hopkins, who used it to create a padded pin board.
“Having grown up in the country, cows are my favourite animal. Especially the highland cow. I purchased the tea towel ‘just because’ and never had intentions of drying dishes with it,” she said.
3. Tote bags
Bundaberg mum Jersey Hall loved the designs of the tea towels so much that she thought they’d make good sturdy tote bags.
“It took about 45 minutes to make each bag with a total cost of $6, which was two tea towels at $3 each.”
4. Artworks
Bendigo mother of two Kate Grange transformed two floral tea towels into framed statement artworks.
“I just wanted a nice floral print for our spare room but didn’t want to spend a fortune. I ended up spending $4 on the two tea towels and $12 on the frames. It took me about 10 minutes!” she said.
5. Upholstery
The banana palm print, meanwhile, triggered a “lightbulb moment” for Gold Coast woman Katie Matheson, who used the tea towel to re-upholster her dining room chairs.
“It tied in with the theme of my apartment,” she explained. “I spent $15 on the tea towels at $3 each. At Bunnings I spent around $65 on paint, sand paper and a staple gun. I chose to use chalkboard paint which seems to be the easiest paint for painting furniture and it gave the matte finish that I was after.”
“I just washed the tea towels and ironed them, unscrewed the seats and covered them with the tea towels before stapling them to secure them underneath,” she said.
6. Dress
Camden mother of two Estienne Carla Meyer was inspired to make a dress for her three-year-old daughter when she spotted the $3 ice cream tea towels in store.
“I thought the fabric was really cute and I could probably turn it into a dress. I used Little Lizard King’s Malibu pattern.”
“I used four tea towels for the skirt and one for the top and lined it with a soft cotton,” she explained.
7. Shorts
When Rockingham mother Melinda Wolhuter spotted the $3 Christmas tea-towels, she “thought they would look super cute as shorts” for her son and niece.
“Each pair would have taken about 15-20 minutes to make and we used elastic and cotton that we already have at home. So I would say we spent about $6 in total to make the two pairs of shorts.”
The tea towel hacks caused a stir on Facebook, with one user exclaiming, “I think I may have to steal this idea”.
“Now that’s talent,” said another.
“Omg I love them, pity I can’t sew. Are you taking orders?” asked another reader.
