How to add a fun fabric border to the bottom of a towel

Jazz up towels with a fabric border!

I love embellishing hand towels and kitchen towels to add some extra pizazz. Adding a fabric border is one of the simplest and quickest ways to decorate towels.

I have machine-embroidered designs on my towels, but you can use this fabric border to enhance any store-purchased towels.  

It's a fun project for all skill levels. By removing the hem at the bottom edge of store-bought towels and adding a fabric border, you can dress them up with fun designs for any occasion. This quick project requires minimal materials and is a great way to use fabric scraps.

Give as a Gift

These embellished towels make wonderful gifts. You can tie up three or more with a bow and a handmade tag to create a beautiful gift bundle. Consider making a bunch one weekend to have on hand as thoughtful hostess gifts!

Check out this towel border page for another tutorial if you want to see a different border technique. To learn how to embroider on towels, click the link for our tutorial!   

Learn more about adding a fabric border to towels by watching our video through the link below or reading this tutorial.

WHAT YOU NEED to add a fabric border to towels

• Store-bought hand or kitchen towel
• 1" wide fabric accent strip for the border
• 2" wide fabric strip for the border
• Iron and board
• Seam ripper (Purchase from Amazon or Joann)
• Cutting Mat (Amazon or Joann)
• Quilters Ruler (Amazon or Joann)
• Rotary cutter (Amazon or Joann)
• Sewing machine
• Usual sewing notions

INSTRUCTIONS to add a border to a towel

STEP 1: Remove the bottom seam

The first step in adding the fabric border is to remove the seam on the bottom of the towel. Simply use a seam ripper and open the stitches all of the way across the bottom of the back of the towel.

After ripping out the bottom seam, remove the stitching about two inches up the long sides of the towels.

This will give the towels a nice finished edge once the border fabric has been added.

Take the towel to the ironing board and iron all of the seams open.

Water or Mary Ellen's Best Press can be used to spray the edges of the fabric to get the seams to lay flat.

There is no need to worry about all of the little holes left by the old stitching as they will come out in the wash.

Note: If the towel's edge is not straight after ironing it, cut it with a quilter's ruler, rotary cutter, and mat to straighten it before adding the border.

Step 2: Cut the border fabrics

Two fabrics are needed for the border. Since it doesn't take much fabric, scraps or something from the stash pile usually work.

Cut the accent border fabric 1" wide by the towel's width plus four inches.

The wider border fabric will be cut 2" wide by the width of the towel plus four inches.

Coordinate the border fabrics with the print on the towel. Plain towels can be made with seasonal border fabric for any holiday.

Get creative. The possibilities are endless!

Step 3: sew the two border fabrics together

Press the two border fabrics nicely and flat; remove any wrinkles.

Fold the narrow border in half lengthwise with the wrong sides together. Use the iron to press this flat.

Next, pin the long raw edges of the narrow fabric to the raw edge of the wider border fabric with the right sides together. 

Use a 1/4" seam allowance to sew down the long edge.

Iron the seam towards the larger fabric strip.

Step 4: sew the border to the towel

Turn the towel so the back is facing up. Place the border fabric with the right side facing down. So, this is the right side of the border to the wrong side of the towel.

Align the raw edge of the border without the accent strip to the raw edge of the towel. Pin together. The accent strip is away from the edge.

Using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew the border to the bottom of the towel.

Step 5: Iron the border

Take the towel with the border to the ironing board. Lay the towel with the wrong side facing up and iron the seam toward the fabric border.

Next, turn the towel so the front is facing up.

Fold the border fabric at the bottom of the towel towards the front, ensuring it is nice and straight. The border should be folded up approximately 1-1/4" to 1-1/2".

Iron the fabric border again so it is folded up on the front side of the towel.

Step 6: Attach the fabric to the front of the towel 

Using thread that matches the wider border fabric, top stitch along the edge of the border fabric. A contrasting thread can also be used if desired. Top stitch all of the way across the towel to hold the border in place.

Sew a second line of decorative topstitching at the bottom of the towel so the fabric will lay flat.

I have found that the accent strip will flip downwards after the towel is washed. To prevent this, stitch another line of stitching along the edge of the accent strip.

Step 7: cut off the excess fabric

Take the towel to the cutting mat and cut off the extra fabric that extends past the side edges of the towel. The border must be the same width as the towel.

Use a ruler, match the bottom of the towel up with one of the ruler lines, and then carefully use the rotary cutter to cut off the excess.

Step 8: Fold the side seams

Lay the towel with the back facing up. The side seams need to be stitched.

The side seam will be folded in twice. Fold the side seam by 1/4" or the amount it was previously folded before you removed the side seams. Iron it to crease the fold.

At the bottom, we don't want the raw edge to peek out from the bottom of the towel when it's finished.  So, fold the tip of the corner under by 45 degrees and press to keep it in place.

Fold the side seam over a second time, matching the new seam to the original seam that was previously there.

Iron the side seam in place and place a couple of pins to hold it. Complete the same process on the other side of the towel.

Step 9: Finish the side seams

Begin by sewing the fabric band edge using thread that matches the border's color. Start at the top of the border fabric and sew to the bottom of the towel. Use a seam allowance the same width as the rest of the towel's side seam. Sew both sides of the border.

Change the thread in the machine to match the towel color. Sew the remaining two inches of the side seam closed. Start sewing a little before where the stitching was removed so the towel edge does not come undone. Cut off any loose threads.

And that's it! The towel has a beautiful border to complement it.

We hope you enjoyed this tutorial on adding a fabric border to a towel. Time to dress up some towels in your house now!

Here are the towels hanging on a stove handle.

They would also make wonderful towels for the bathroom.

Other towel tutorials you may enjoy

• Embroidered Spring Towels
• Machine Embroidered Bird House Towels
• Holiday Crocheted Dish Towels
• Herb Kitchen Towels
• Halloween Hanging Towels
• Fabric Yo-yo Towels
• Hanging Kitchen Towel