DIY Unpaper Towels Tutorial
Unpaper towels are a super easy sewing project that you can whip out quickly! They don’t have to be perfect or even pretty which makes them the perfect beginner sewing project.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I make a small commission at absolutely no extra cost to you. See my full, boring disclosure here.
What Are Unpaper Towels?
If this is a new term for you, you may be wondering what in the world are unpaper towels? Basically it’s a new trendy term for an old fashioned thing. Reusable kitchen towels as a paper towel alternative. Washing and reusing instead of piling up more waste the same way our mothers and grandmothers had kitchen rags that they washed and reused, only they did it out of necessity. It’s funny how things go full circle sometimes, isn’t it?
I’m just thankful that I have a washing machine to clean them in instead of having to scrub them on a washboard!
Save Money And Reduce Waste
So why would you want to use unpaper towels? For me, the 2 main reasons are to save money on something I would use once then throw in the trash and also to cut down on said trash. I loved the idea of having a reusable paper towel alternative!
We missed garbage day a couple of weeks in a row and it was eye opening how quickly the trash piled up to the point where we couldn’t fit any more in the cans!
Paper towels seems like a silly way to cut down on garbage and waste but making unpaper towels had been on my mind for a while and that just kicked me in gear to get them made! They’re a great way to move towards more eco friendly cleaning.
What Is The Best Fabric For Unpaper Towels?
You don’t need anything fancy for unpaper towels or even a specialty type fabric. That being said, certain fabrics will definitely work better than others for this purpose.
You want something absorbent for messes. Good choices include flannel, which is the fabric I used for mine, and terry cloth. Regular cotton like is used for quilting isn’t a good choice unless you layer it with something like terry cloth or flannel just to look pretty. It’s just not very absorbent at all.
So far I’m really pleased with the flannel unpaper towels that I used. They fold and clean similar to regular paper towels and I think they’ll hold up really well.
What You Need For DIY Unpaper Towels:
- 1 yard of your fabric of choice – you can work with any amount
- scissors or rotary cutter, mat, and cutting ruler
- sewing machine or serger
How To Make DIY Unpaper Towels:
- Wash and dry your fabric to pre shrink it.
- Cut your fabric into strips and then squares {see below for options}
- Sew a zigzag stitch around the edge of each rag if using a regular sewing machine.
- Serge all raw edges if using a serger.
There’s absolutely no need to be a perfectionist when making unpaper towels since they’re essentially just specific cleaning rags. You don’t have to stress about edges being perfectly straight or stitches being just right.
2 Ways To Cut Without Wasting Fabric
There are a few different things you can do when cutting your reusable paper towels out. First is to cut a certain size, say 10″ x 10″ and most likely end up with a strip of fabric that gets thrown away. If that’s what’s least stressful to you then totally go for it but it’s definitely my least favorite options because I really don’t like to waste things especially not when I’ve paid for it!
So here are your other options. Be sure and watch the video if you need clarification.
First option, you can fold your fabric in half and cut on the fold. Then fold those 2 strips in half and cut them on the fold. then fold those 4 pieces in half and cut on the fold. You would keep folding in half and cutting on the fold until you get to the size you want your unpaper towels to be. Depending on how big your fabric was starting out, your finished rags may not be square but that’s ok!
The second way is to figure out an approximation of how big you can make your rags and come out not having any waste. I figured I could make mine 10 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ without having any waste and the last row would just be a little wider which I was totally fine with. So I folded my fabric a few times to make it small enough to fit on my cutting mat and then cut 10 1/2″ wide strips. Then I stacked all my strips and cut them into approximate 10 1/2″ squares. It sounds complicated but it’s really not.
How Many Do You Really Need?
A common question that always comes up is how many unpaper towels do I need? Really, there’s no hard and fast number. My batch came out to be right around 20 10 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ towels. Honestly, for now I think that will be plenty. Typically I’ll wipe my counters and then shake out any debris, set the rag aside and then fold it a different way and use it again so I’m not just flying through them.
My primary use for paper towels and now my unpaper towels is wiping my countertops, stove, range hood, etc. Basically I’ll use them when I clean surfaces in my house instead of paper towels. And wiping sticky little fingers and faces!
The exceptions when I’ll keep a roll of paper towels on hand for are really greasy messes or jobs like wiping out my cast iron when I’m finished cooking or nasty stuff like cleaning toilets. And you could totally have dedicated unpaper towels just for those super dirty jobs but I’d rather use a few paper towels every once in a while than to try to keep my rags separated by what they’re used for. That’s way too complicated for this stage of life!
Sewing Supplies That I Love For This Project:
Rotary cutter, mat, and ruler set
Brother Sewing Machine – a great inexpensive option for a beginner
Brother Sewing Machine – a heavier duty option
You May Also Like:
Berkey Water Filter Pros and Cons | BERKEY FILTER REVIEW
Finding Authentic Farmhouse Decor at Thrift Stores and Garage Sales
Please Share To Your Favorite Board:
Thank you so much for stopping by today. It means so much to me to have you here! Be sure to check out my YouTube channelfor my blog content in video format and come visit me over on Instagram.
If you make your own unpaper towels, be sure and tag me on IG. I’d love to see your creations!
Please feel free to share to Pinterest and FaceBook. Your help sharing and getting my content out into the world is so huge!
Great idea! I’m planning to repurpose a flannel fitted sheet that has lost it’s elastic and this is a great way to try my first go round with “un-paper” towels!
That’s a really good idea! I hope you enjoy them. Ours are still going strong!
I have a serger but am new to serging. I’d like to try serging the edges. Which serger stitch did you use to make yours? I’ll be using flannel.
Hmmm…my serger is an older machine so it doesn’t have stitch options. At least not that I know of. Does it have just a basic default stitch? I’m sorry I’m not very helpful for that!
Thank you so much for sharing this! One question for you, did you double up the flannel, or just use a single layer? How have they held up?
I did a single layer and they’ve held up really well! I use them almost exclusively and only use paper towels for super greasy things like my cast iron. They’re stained some but other than that, they’re still in perfect condition!
Hello! These sound awesome! I will be getting married next year, and I am trying to already think of ways to save money. I definitely want to make a unpaper towel that is super absorbent and useful as we use a lot of them! Do you think it would be beneficial to still keep a roll of paper towels for like when you clean a toilet, somebody gets sick, smash a bug, or just anything crazy like that? LOL. Odd questions, I know! But, I just wanted to know the limits of the unpaper towels?
Also, if you had to break it down, does the cost of making, using and then having to wash the unpaper towels in the washer (because that does affect the water bill) outweigh buying disposable paper towels? Anybody ever done the math?
To outweigh the cost, would it be beneficial to make a lot of unpaper towels to have a fuller load? Sort of odd questions, but as much as I love DIY, I always want to make sure they work.
Hi Amy!
Those questions aren’t odd at all but good things to think about.
Yes, I do still like to keep a roll of paper towels around for things like cleaning toilets and wiping out my greasy cast iron. You could definitely use unpaper towels for that but I don’t want to!
As far as the cost, I haven’t done the math but over the long term I think unpaper towels are much cheaper. I usually end up just tossing the dirty ones in with whatever laundry I’m washing since they’re so small and I’d have to have a ton of them to make a whole load. So I’m not washing any extra which makes it more efficient.
Also, lately I’ve been rinsing them after I use them, wringing them out, and hanging them over my dish drain to dry. That way I get multiple uses out of them before they need a wash.
I hope that answers your questions and congratulations on your coming marriage!
Oh my gosh I love this so much!!! Looks so simple and approachable!!
They really are so simple and an easy, quick project!!
This is such a great idea! I avoid buying paper towels, and I usually use some ugly rags instead. But I love the idea of sewing a dedicated set, and having them look pretty! Thanks for sharing 🙂
That’s what I had before but they were forever getting mixed in with other stuff that they didn’t go with so I’m really excited to have a dedicated kitchen set!
Love this post! Great explanation of everything. I hope more people make the switch over. I use rags all the time in my house.
Thank you so much! I’ve used rags a lot in the past but never any that were just specifically for the kitchen which I think is going to be really nice.
What a great idea! Flannel! Thank you!
They’re working out great. Thank you for stopping by!
Love this! Flannel is a game changer. Why did I never think of that?! 🤦🏻♀️
I was wondering how well the flannel would work but I’m loving them so far!
Oh this is something I want to do! Thank you so much for sharing your tutorial! I would have never thought of flannel!
They were super easy too since there was no need to stress about perfection. You can just sit down and enjoy the process!