My home has a powder room that is quite Victorian in decor. It has very dark navy blue with pink roses wallpaper. Being that this room is quite small it is dramatic. I have never found any hand sized towels that look right. So while shopping several months ago I came across a large very luxurious navy blue bath towel. Well, I bought it knowing what I would do. Next I got out a couple of fabrics I liked. Here is my plan...cut the bath towel in half across the middle. Cut a fabric strip to sew to the cut end of the towel.
Here is the towel hung as you would any purchased towel. This is Mr. C's favorite version as he prefers everything super plain.
This is the floral version. The fabric mimics the tiny roses in the wallpaper. I added the lace just because I could and it reflected the more feminine Victorian flair of this powder room. 
This is the not so feminine version using a beautiful blue fabric named Fairy Frost and it shimmers with the light. Once again the other end of this towel is the standard plain version so it can be hung either direction. 
In this photo I realize it is hard to see but if you look very closely you will see the small stars stitched onto the fabric. It is this detail that really sets this towel apart from a purchased one from the store. Now instead of the skimpy little hand towel hanging on the rod there is this larger luxurious towel personalized to my powder room hanging ready for use.
Years ago I personalized two complete sets of towels for my grandparents. No photos but I certainly remember all the work put into them. I purchased brown bath and hand towels along with matching washcloths. I purchased some fabulous horse themed fabric. With careful cutting I then machine appliqued the horses to the towels. My grandparents were thrilled with their gifts and it was something they could use. Maybe this gives you some ideas for gifts this year.
I am thinking of making more of these large luxurious hand towels for other bathrooms in the house. Hmmm...maybe even some for gifts for my list this year.
How would you use this idea for your gift giving or personal use?
We are still having a ton of rain and very gray days. In just a few hours we got almost 3 inches of rain. More predicted and the possibility of snow later this week. Spring where are you?
Happy Spring and Birds Who Sing to each of you...
