Very sweet!

Nice!

I like the blue and white, especially with the dishes. Is there anyway you can use the yellow and white for an accent...maybe even as tea towels? :)

lavender -- Yes, I could do that! Good idea :0)

Glad you like it! I think tea towels are charming, so why not use them as much as possible?

Also, I don't know what your china pattern looks like, but is there anyway you can paint the back of the glass uppers yellow? Or maybe add some yellow wallpaper/contact paper? It might set off the dishes, nicely.

Here's a room I like (that Home4all6 showed me today) and I thought it might give you some ideas :) {{!gwi}}From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

I love the tea towel look : )

I love that fabric, but the grain will mean that the border will have to run lengthwise on the curtain. If you try to run the border along the bottom, they won't hang quite right.

As for color, either will look nice.

...now I have to go find tea towel fabric. I'm still using towels that my grandmother made many, many years ago.

pawa, I love love love that fabric and have been googling "tea towel fabric" ever since reading your post. I don't have cafe curtains, but I have a valance over my sink that is my favorite thing in my kitchen, so now I'm on the lookout for more. Did you happen to notice what brand it is?

1929, why won't it hang right? I don't know anything about how fabric is woven or how it should be hung, so I made my valance with the selvedge (length) across the bottom of mine and it hangs just fine. It's much shorter than a cafe curtain, and it's lined, if that makes any difference.

Or, what if you sewed a lightweight chain weight into the bottom hem like they do with heavy drapes to make them hang nice? Love tea toweling!

I knew Lavender would find a perfect pic :)

The blue and white cafe curtains are going to look great!

Fabric always has a grain to it that affects how it will hang. Grain typically runs lentghwise. Most stripes will run along the grain, but a "railroad" pattern will have the stripes going across the grain. Different cuts on the grain will yield different results.

For example, I love a "bias cut" a-line skirt which uses the grain at an angle to maintain a nice shape. You see this in a-line bridal and cocktail dresses - especially in softer fabrics.

When you cut piping for pillows or upholstery, you cut it on the bias so that it wraps around the "rope" inside keeping and making it pliable while holding it's shape around corners.

A cut across the lengthwise grain will help the fabric hang straight down, giving it a nice heft usually seen in curtains. When you make a larger hanging piece that isn't cut across the lengthwise grain, it will not have the natural drape and can become wonky over time.

Keep in mind also that the fabric will stretch the length of the grain. That's why when we try and shrink sweats or jeans in the dryer, they get shorter, but they don't get "smaller".

I've been sewing since I was 9 and I've made every mistke in the book. I put my machines aside for a number of years and am about to make curtains for my kitchen as well.

I think they will be the perfect touch, and if it were me making them, I'd use stitch witchery on the inside of the hem (and then a regular hem stitch) to give the bottom a little more weight.

Hey!

Isn't this fabric kind of perfect? It's familiar (like gingham) without being fussy, and has a little bit of texture too.

Linelle - I'll go to the fabric shop tonight and check the brand name.

Lavender - I love that kitchen you posted! I saw in on your "four different counters ok?" thread but didn't comment. Those chairs are really nice.

I have blue italian spode (floral-ish pastoral plates, about 50% blue, 50% white) and some other random bits of blue and white plates and associated china, as well as many random bits of floral china/mugs/cups, etc... I'm throwing it all in in a big jumble and hoping the mess looks 'charming' :-)

Yes, I could paint the backs of the glass uppers yellow, and I think it would look good. I want to think about it some more before diving in though.

Spanish - Thanks for the forewarning about the fabric not hanging right. Yeah, I've never used railroaded fabric so I don't really know how it will hang. But I think I'll buy the fabric anyway and see how it goes. The fabric is only ~$5/y, so if it doesn't work out, it's not a big loss.

ghostlyvision - I had to look up 'stitch witchery' :-) and it looks like it's intefacing. Is it the same thing?

Other colours:

1929Spanish is right, of course, but I doubt it will make that much difference with something like a cafe curtain.

Stitch Witchery is sort of like interface, but its function is to stick two fabrics together rather than provide stiffness. It's pretty much like the sewing equivalent of double sided tape. You put it between two fabrics, iron, and voila! "Stitch Witchery" is a brand name, so there are other similar products available - kind of like calling all tissue Kleenex.

The sheet of small tiles, will that be your backsplash? I'm wondering if it will be too busy for the simple (but pretty and classic) tea towel curtains or the curtains too laid back for the busy backsplash? JMHO

schoolhouse: yes, the sheet of tiles will be my backsplash. ...I wonder if I need something even MORE simple against the busy backsplash....just plain white, for example.

suzannesl; thank-you for the clarification on stitch witchery.

Deedles- :)

Pawa- I'm glad you like the picture. I think Schoolhouse has made an excellent point, about the tile. Do you already have it purchased/installed? It's very pretty, but seems to be moving in a different direction, from your tea towels and dishes. I'm sure it could all work together (or change fabric) but if you haven't actually gotten the tile yet, you might think about some more cottage-like alternatives. Whatever you decide, it's your kitchen and should reflect your tastes...but I constantly have to remind myself of all the 'stuff' I plan to use/display in our kitchen, when I'm thinking about other finishes.

I like it. I think I'd like the yellow better because the blue reminds me of those mattresses none of us are old enough to have actually seen but probably wouldn't once up. And I wouldn't write off the bobbles just yet! They're great!

Well, if it doesn't work out, yep, now you got tea towels.

I think the fabric is adorable in any color. I don't like cutesy, fussy things, but this just reminds me of happy days, my mom in her aprons, fixing killer pot roast.

Hi Linelle - The name on the tea toweling fabric is "Fabricland" . It's Canadian store that, I guess, makes or resells fabrics under their name. It doesn't look like they have an online store.

Thank you all for your opinions.

Just for fun, here are some inspiration pics:

Fabricland is a store in Canada that sells mainly fabrics and notions. It is a great store for anyone who sews. You are sure to find something you like in those stores. I am currently looking for a yellow fabric for my bathroom. It is the first store I'll be going to to find the perfect one.

Thanks for the Fabricland name, pawa! Those pics remind me of the white metal cabinets we had in our house growing up (with blue formica and linoleum).

I miss Fabricland! They used to have some stores in our area (eastern Washington) but they closed down. None of the other stores are nearly as good.

Cute pictures :)

I know this is a old thread, but found a great site that has tons of tea toweling in many colors! http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/browse_dept_items.asp?store_id=587&page_id=17&categ_id=174