Fixing Ratty Towels

[ironrite]

Recently there was a thread on towels. I like the big bath sheet type towels. Almost 10 years ago I received 7 Ralph Lauren ones for Christmas. Finally they started to wear along the edges. Of course no self respecting housewife would put these out on the line to dry. What would the neighbors think!

Of course you can just use them for the car, but the body of the towel is still fine. So here is an easy fix if you have a serger or know someone that has one.

What is a serger? It's not a sewing machine. The serger finishes off seams and uses multiple cones of thread depending on the make to make its various stitches.

The first photo shows the ratty towel edge.

 

[ironrite]

Extra Woolly Nylon

As a comparison the thread to the left in the picture is regular serger thread. The extra woolly nylon is to the right. When the woolly goes through the serger it will stretch out and then relax once it is in the seam to fill in any gaps in the stitches.

 

[ironrite]

Threading the Serger

I am using what is called a wrapped edge. Two of the serger needles are threaded with regular thread and the woolly nylon goes in the lower looper. My serger is computerized, so it sets itself to the correct tensions and tells me how to set the other adjustments. You can do this stitch with a basic three thread serger as well. You may need to adjust your settings to get a nice stitch

Sergers use a combination of needles, and upper looper and lower looper to form the stitch. Some have another looper that is used to form a chain stitch.

 

[ironrite]

Serging Away

Just about done with the towel. You can start to see the new finished edge toward the back of the foot. The serger cuts off the old frayed edge then passes the towel under the needles and the looper. With terry cloth it is a very messy proccess.

 

[ironrite]

Finally Done

Here is the new finished edge. You can get thread is most colors to match your towels or you can use contrasting thread.

Once the edge is finished I use a product called Fray Block on the just the two ends of the edge. Check your local craft or sewing store. It looks and smells like model car cement. And that is what it does, it seals the raw edge and prevents fraying of the threads. Does it hold up? Yes, I did my other six towels last Summer and they still look great. I run my whites with bleach through the sanitary cycle on the Samsung.

I thought I'd share the process. Sergers can go from a few hundred dollars up into the thousands. However, you may find one at a garage sale or thrift store and if it is cheap enough and works give this project a try.

Sergers typically use larger cones of thread and the woolly nylon can be found at larger fabric stores.

 

[bernina]

what a great solution!

Can I send you a couple of our towels for fixing? LOL

Do you think I'd be able to do a similar fix with a good sewing machine?

Thanks for the tutorial.

 

[gansky1]

Excellent job - what a great way to restore towels. I need to bring my serger out for a class and project weekend with you sometime!

I'll bring my Bernina(s) and try to convert you...

 

[surgilator_68]

I did that to my towels a few weeks ago before I switched over to the direct drive washer. I didn't want anyone saying that the washer was ruining my fabrics.

 

[ironrite]

To do this on a sewing machine you could try to use a double needle and possibly with some type of edge stitch it may work. The big problem would be getting the woolly to feed through your bobbin case. The serger, with its two loopers can handle odd sizes and type of thread like the woolly, pearl cotton, metalics and even ribbon. The loopers come under and over the edge of the fabic and this is what finishes it off to prevent fraying.

Greg, you will have the serger packed away! Sure bring it on out here. Anytime you guys may be out Las Vegas way, let me know. When I got the new Babylock machine I had the chance to get a Bernina. Though nothing sews like a Bernina, the Babylock has the edge in embroidery.

When my niece was about 4, she did some drawings for me. I saved them and I digitized this one of the rabbit. She is now 33 and has two little ones of her own. For her recent birthday, I stitched out some shirts for her and her kids. She didn't remember doing the drawing, but her kids loved the shirts. The stitches were done to look like a kid's crayon scribbles.

 

[ronhic]

And for those of us from the UK or Australia, a Serger is an:

OVERLOCKER

 

[aamassther]

Beautiful job! I love my serger too. Rolled hem with wooly nylon has always been my fav stitch, napkins and tablecloths are a breeze. I've also done edges like this on a sewing machine with an overlock stitch, foot and perle cotton riding along the edge, to add strength.

 

[panthera]

Frequently,

You can pick up a decent (rarely, though, top of the line) Serger/Overlocker at garage sales because the owner couldn't figure out how to thread it.
No kidding.
Thanks for sharing, that towel looks perfect.

 

[dirtybuck]

How long did it take to re-do that towel?

 

[sudsmaster]

Looks like a lot of thread.

Another way is to use bias tape (double fold, all cotton) all along the edge.

I made do wit my towels by using a zig-sag stitch along the frayed edge. Cut off any threads that escaped the zig-zag. It's not perfect but it seems to have stopped the fraying.

Since my towels are all cotton I try to use only all-cotton thread on them. It's a bit harder to find than it was, say, 40 years ago!

 

[ironrite]

I'm using an Elna 945, it can use up to five threads, depending what stitch is selected. It can do the chainstitch as well as coverstitch. Chainstich is what you find sometimes on dog food bags. Pull one thread and the whole thing unravels. The coverstitch is usually what is found around the botton of tee shirts and pull overs. Sewing machines can duplicate this by using a twin needle.

It may seem like a lot of thread, however the regular serger thread can be found for around $2-3 per cone. The speciality threads can cost more. Depending on the stitch, the cones last for a long time.

Keven, you are correct! Most sergers are a pain to thread, if you do not thread it in the correct order, upper looper, lower looper, right needle, left needle, it will not work. Then you have to start all over. Which is why you can find them cheap. I use a dental floss threader, found at local drugstores to help with the threading. Babylock brand sergers use was is called air jet threading. They use a vacuum system to pump the looper threads through the machine. No fussing with loopers, but the machines are spendy.

I would say once the machine is threaded, about 5 minutes to thread and test out the stitch, it probably took about another 2-3 minutes to finish the towel.

Binding can work as well and would make a nice finish. Most of the binding tape I can get here though is polyester and feels rather harsh. Cotton binding would be the way to go.

 

[hydralique]

Neat Thread . . .

I never really knew what a serger was, so this has educated me. Thanks for posting!

 

[askomiele]

Hey!

That's my favorit machine in my grandmothers sewingroom! We call it a 'soltiteuse'. It is fascinating to see the machine at work.

 

[mrboilwash]

I have discovered a new kind of dental floss not too long ago.

It looks exactly like the extra woolly nylon. Highly recommended !

 

[elginkid]

I think I have the same towel...

and it's doing the same thing. Most of my machines are from the 19th century though. If you only have a straight stitch, you can sometimes sew many lines back and forth, and then side to side, and it's nearly like creating a new warp and weft in the cloth. Also, you can sew a small dart to take up the frayed area. I did that to my bedsheets when Dave's old A208 put a couple of holes in my brand new sheets. One newer machines, as mentioned you can use a zig-zag stitch, but setting it to the smallest stitch will leave a nice tight clean edge that you can trim against.