Tutorial - Herringbone Embroidered Border

Waffle cloth towels are marvelous! They’re wonderfully thirsty and just get softer with washing. Plus, they have perfect little squares with raised threads - just right for this woven embroidery technique. This tutorial shows how to take advantage of these raised threads by using a simple Herringbone stitch and an extra easy Running stitch to make a pretty border on the edge of the hand towel.

This project is really easy! It takes just a few minutes to complete the towel. You will first need a waffle weave hand towel. The brand of my towel is Dunroven House. If you are very ambitious, you can sometimes find waffle weave cloth and make the towel yourself. You will also need a large, blunt tapestry needle and a skein of Perle cotton - size 5. Six threads of the regular cotton embroidery floss, or even a sport-weight acrylic yarn will also work. Caution: Cotton waffle weave fabric shrinks! You will want to pre-wash and dry the towel and then iron it well. The microfiber waffle weave towels don't cause quite the same problem.

Measure a length of thread four times the width of the towel. Tie a knot and hide it at the back of the side hem of the towel. Bring the needle up on the front of the towel a few inches above the hem, and at the left side of one of the small squares. Make a diagonal stitch, picking up the vertical threads laying on top of the fabric of the square in the next row over and two above the row you started on. Always push the needle from the right to the left, each time you make a stitch.

Bring the needle diagonally back to the starting row and catch the vertical threads of the next square over, again taking the needle under the threads from the right to the left. Alternate the stitching in this same way. Keep the tension snug, but be careful not to pull the thread too tight. The fabric should remain flat and the thread should have a bit of a curved loop, rather than a tight X. Don’t worry about the long diagonal thread - it will be tacked down later. Repeat the Herringbone stitch across the width of the towel.

At the other side, after you bring the diagonal thread down, bring the needle up in the middle of the row of skipped squares. Catch the vertical threads just under and above each of the previous crossed stitches. This will tack down the long diagonal thread in the stitch and make it less likely to snag with wear.

Continue this Running stitch back across the width of the towel. As you pick up the vertical threads in the squares of the towel, make sure that each of the long diagonal threads of the Herringbone stitches are caught and tacked down.

To finish, bring the needle up on the back side of the hemmed edge and take three small back stitches to tack the thread. Then, bring the needle out at the edge of the hem and clip the thread.

You can call the border finished with just one row. One row is very quick and looks simple and elegant.

Or, you can repeat the process with another row, if you wish. Two rows are also very pretty.

I put three rows on this towel. Because it is a single hand towel in a bigger set, and, because it is going into the hope chest, I wanted a more elaborate border. I think it is lovely!