Design Overload

Britain was the first country to create the ‘Tea Towels’ term.

In the 19th Century, approximately 1870, Great Britain’s Linen Tea Towels were a special drying out cloth that the lady of the home would utilise to dry costly items of China.

With its fine weave, linen was regarded as the fabric of choice as it wouldn’t normally damage pieces of antique china or glass ware.

British servants were charged with hand hemming and hand embroidering the tea towels. Each tea towel was stitched with care, with many of them turning out to be the subject of family treasures handed along generations.

Linen was regarded as the very best usage of soft cloth; nonetheless it did require a lot of handheld care. Water temperatures couldn’t be that warm so all linen had to be strung out to dry from the natural light. When the tea towel was just a tad moist, it needed to be ironed on the opposite side.

It is highly acknowledged that British people like their tea and pride themselves on the way they serve it. At tea events the table was incredibly covered with the finest of linens and the most beautiful crystals and China, complete with coordinating serviettes and tea towels.

Dry and clean tea towels were often used as a tea cosy twisted around the teapot to protect and keep the pot warm, in addition to a basket warmer to help keep tea scones, tea cakes or muffins hot and fresh.

Tea towels were mass made by the Industrial Revolution with businesses like www.ulsterweavers.com nowadays creating Cotton Tea Towels and other home-kitchen linen products displaying a variation of pictures, images, trends and designs.