Inexpensive Farmhouse Decor Pieces

Are you as happy as I am that the farmhouse decor trend is still very popular?  If your like me and don’t leap in at every new fad and have to carefully choose decor changes with budget in mind the farmhouse decor trend is made for us.  I very much appreciate the ability to make so much farmhouse decor yourself, or buy some basic pieces and build on them with beautiful handmade accessories.  Galvanized pieces are a great example.

You just have to love the price point, and the fact it is all so neutral and easy to decorate with,  it certainly a beautiful staple of farmhouse decorating, but it needs to be part of an arrangement don’t you think?.

Galvanized decor is a great way to start adding farmhouse touches to your home.  A simple three-tier tray and these little trays are a great start.  In today’s post am sharing some very inexpensive and gorgeous DIY muslin tea towels you can make to add farmhouse glamour to your home, or surprise a friend with a beautiful handmade gift.  They only cost about $2 to make, but they look fabulous. 

Muslin DIY Towels with Crochet Trim

I expect that all galvanized decor comes with a protective coating.   But to be safe I won’t serve food in anything aluminum without a liner.

The easiest way to make sure your food doesn’t come in contact with aluminum is to line your containers with a tea towel.  There is all kind of farmhouse tea towels on the market but instead, I  made some simple muslin DIY towels and spent a couple hours crocheting pretty lace on the ends.  These handmade DIY tea towels and some galvanized decor would make a really thoughtful gift, but these ones are for Me.

If you want to make your own, here’s how.

Wash, dry, and iron your muslin before you start sewing.

Cut the material into a rectangle 29 inches long, and 17 inches wide.

Fold over all edges 1/2 inch and then another half an inch.  Sew a 3/8 seam.    Press with an iron.

Blanket Stitch

In order to have something to crochet the lace edge on, you need to do a blanket stitch first.  The blanket stitch gives you loops to anchor your crochet on to.

Complete a blanket stitch edge,  place stitches 1/4 inch apart along the entire width of the tea towel.  Repeat for the other end.

Knot your thread, starting from the back poke your needle up about 1/4 inch in.   Create a loop around the end, pull the thread back up at the same spot as where you started.  Now pull your thread through the stitch as shown below.

To make the second stitch poke the needle down from the top making sure to loop the thread behind the needle, pull taut. Continue to the end of the row.

If you need more specific instructions follow this great tutorial from Holiday Crafts and Creations.

Crochet Edge

This is a very simple crochet edge, suitable for beginners.  The crochet pattern doesn’t have a long chain or delicate design elements,  this border will endure the necessary washings.

To make this lace edging you will need Size 10 Crochet cotton and a size 1.5 mm crochet hook.

1st row –  st st in the first blanket stitch,  Place the crochet thread tail at the back of the cloth and work into you crochet.  Do 2 sc in each blanket stitch loop across, ch1 turn.

2nd row –  1 sc in each stitch across,  ch 1, turn.

3rd row –   sc in first two sc, ch 3, skip 2sc, *sc in next two sc, ch 3, skip 2 sc repeat from * across.  If you end up with extra stitches, fill in with sc.

4th row –  sc, in ch 3 loop, *(sc,hdc,dc.picot,hdc,sc), 2sc,* repeat across. Tie off.

Alternative Crochet Edge

1st row –  st st in the first blanket stitch,  Place the crochet thread tail at the back of the cloth and work into you crochet.  Do 2 sc in each blanket stitch loop across, ch1 turn.

2nd row –  1 sc in each stitch across,  ch 1, turn.

3rd row.  sc, ch3, *skip sc, sc, ch3, repeat from * across. Tie off.

The vintage feel of these little towels makes them special for any season.  Please comment and let me know if you plan on making some of your own.