Monday, February 10, 2014

Monogrammed Chair Backs (An Easy DIY)

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Hi Everyone! I wanted to share with you a fun, afternoon project I completed long ago at the bank breaking price of under  $10.00! Let me set the scene for you:  this past Christmas I had purchased some really cute holiday kitchen towels.  When I was unpacking them, I randomly hung them on the back rail of our kitchen chairs.  Oh my gosh, they were super, super cute!! So I left them there for the holiday season, but they did a lot of slipping and sliding around and ended up  not being very practical.  But, undaunted, I knew this was the dawn of the nifty idea for future "towel/chair" décor and I set out in January to perfect this idea.  First, let me show you the finished product:  can you see cute? Well, I sure as heck can!!! Love them!!!!
 


And without further ado, here is what I did to accomplish this under $10.00 (total, for all five of our chairs)  awesomeness!

First, I hit up the sewing section at my local WalMart for these amazing Aunt Martha's Stitch 'Em Up "Retro Stripe" towels.  They come in a package of three and are 100% cotton, and 100% faux grainsack awesome! $2.97 for a package of three. (on Aunt Martha's website they are substantially more expensive, so I am not sure if these were mismarked at WalMart or not. However, if you are looking for other colors and designs, check out their website for a nice variety) These are great even if you don't embellish them and my mom has always sworn by cotton dishtowels for um....drying dishes!


Next, I went to my computer and picked out a font, sized it up to what I needed, and printed out the
"W" I needed. Easy so far, eh?


The towels are sheer enough that you can see the bold font through the fabric and I copied it on to the towels with my trusty No.2 pencil.


After the tracing was done, I took a good old Sharpie marker and traced over the pencil lines.  Let me also add that the folds from packaging made centering my monogram easy peasy.


After I had finished "monogramming" the towels, I ironed them thoroughly (which also helps to "set" the marker if you should ever need to wash the towels). I also folded the towels in thirds to get the width I need for my chairs.  I did not cut them to size because a) that would mean I would have some hemming to do and b) I wanted to be able to use them for another purpose someday. (But mostly, didn't want to hem!)


Are you still with me folks? We are heading down the home stretch.  I then took a 97 cent package of buttons and a $2.97 package of sticky back Velcro rounds and went about the last two steps of this super simple project.


*cover your eyes, my glue gun is not very pretty!*

As I mentioned, when I used the Christmas towels on my chairs during the holidays, they slipped and slid out of place.  To remedy that problem, I simply took a pair of Velcro rounds and attached them to the inside of the towels. This way, after the towels are placed on the chairs, I can secure them with the Velcro and they will stay in place. Also, since they are not heat fused onto the fabric, I can always peel them off if ever I should decide to use the towels for a different purpose.


Lastly, I took three buttons and simply hot glued them on the back side of the towel to give a finished look.  I also think it would be adorable to have the buttons facing the other side and the monogram facing out.




 
Here is one final look at the finished product.  Super fun - especially for Valentine's and even Fourth of July and of course, Christmas. The best part is that if I change my mind, I can remove the Velcro and buttons and I will still have five cute, monogrammed tea towels.
 


What do you think? I just love how they turned out and as far as time to make five of these cuties - under two hours.  The ironing took the longest!

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

Linking with:

Metamorphosis Monday
Make it Pretty Monday
The DIYers
Amaze Me Monday
Monday Funday
Masterpiece Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday





16 comments:

  1. Such a cute idea, Jane! I love those towels. I need to stop in Walmart more often.

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  2. Fantastic idea Jane dear! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Those turned out really cute, Jane. I love projects like this. Those are great towels and I will have to look at Walmart and see if there are any left- xo Diana

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    1. Every now and then Wal-Mart has a diamond in the rough!

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  4. What a fun idea, these turned out very nicely! I like how they attach to the chairs!

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    1. Thanks! The tiny little Velcro dot really did the trick.

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  5. These are super cute, I love the button detail on them.

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  6. This is such a super-cute (and easy) idea!

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  7. I love this idea, how fun and what a creative idea. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty

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  8. Jane, what an adorable idea! Those are just too cute and I love that they were easy too!
    :)
    Cecilia

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  9. You are so smart! I love how they look and love how easy this project was. I didn't know those towels were sold at Walmart. Great! I do my grocery shopping there so I will have to look for them next time. Love how you used a sharpie to make your monogram too.

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