I bought some hand towels recently, but when I looked at them today, I realized they were just so plain. I still had my fabric scrap container out. With a little digging, I found a couple of scraps large enough to add a bit of color to my towels.

Measure the width of your towel. Mine measured 15 ½”.
Add 1” to this measurement. For my towels, 15 ½” plus 1” = 16 ½”.

The towel decoration will consist of a wide band of one fabric and two narrow bands of a different fabric. I am using fabric widths that seem suitable for the hand towels I have.  You may want to use different fabric widths according to the sizes of the towels you want to decorate.

Look for scraps that are at least ‘width of towel +1 inch’ in one direction and suitable to make a wide band and two narrow bands for as many towels as you want to have matching trims.

Cut fabric:

Cut the center strip fabric 3 ½” x 16 ½”
Cut 2 narrow edge strips from contrasting fabric 1 ½” x 16 ½”

Prepare the fabric pieces:
Center panel:

Fold and press ½” to wrong-side on short edges. (When pressed, the fabric strip should be the same width as the towel. If necessary, adjust the amount folded.) Set aside.

Edge pieces:

Fold and press ½” to wrong-side on short edges of both narrow strips.
On one long edge of each narrow strip, fold and press ½” to wrong-side. Set aside.
Construction:

1. Mark towel 2 ½” from bottom edge.
2. Place center strip on top of towel, right-side up, lining up the bottom edge of fabric strip with marked line. (If necessary adjust folded ends so they line up with the edges of towel.)
3. Lay narrow strip of fabric right-side down on top of center fabric strip. Line up the raw edges, and pin.

4. Repeat with other narrow fabric strip on the other edge of the center strip.
5. Stitch through both layers of fabric and towel. I used the edge of my presser foot as a guide for my seam allowance.

6. Fold narrow strips out so they cover the raw seam allowance. Press and pin.

7. Edge stitch along the two unsewn long fabric edges and the two short runs along the towel edges. This can be done as a continuous stitch along four sides of the decorative fabric band.