uses for old towels

mouseymousey99

Hi - I had a super shop fit the other day and replaced old my scratchy old towels with some super dooper new news. Quick question - any ideas what I can do with the old ones?
Also, I want to replace the bedding bit by bit with 100% cotton, I just like it. What is cotton percale?
Many thanks

beemuzed

Old towels here get cut down to use as floor cloths, etc. Could also make towelling mitts with pocket to hold bar of soap and use in the shower?

COOLTRIKERCHICK

you can also sew up the towels to make like beach bags with cord drawstrings and place them behind the bedroom doors on hooks for dirty washing....

you could also donate them to an animal sanctuary for bedding or to a dog groomer for drying the dogs etc...

or do a rag rug with them for the bathroom...

Seakay

I found this definition of percale:

Percale means the cotton is combed to remove knots leaving linens extremely soft to the touch

My parents had some poly cotton percale sheets and pillowcases and I can confirm that they felt very smooth to the touch and lasted for years and years.

Topher

A percale weave has a thread count of about 200 or higher, and is noticeably tighter than the standard type of weave used for bed-sheets. It has medium weight, is firm and smooth with no gloss, and warps and washes very well. It is made from both carded and combed yarns. Percale fabrics are made in both solid colors and printed patterns. The finish of the fabric is independent of its weave, so it can be either printed or unprinted.
Wikky
T

Seakay

I use cut up old towels for wiping up etc instead of kitchen paper. Depending on the use they can be washed and reused (eg grease absorber from frying stuff), washed and consigned to the rags only bag for the local charity shop , not washed and thrown away (eg cat accident, oily rag for garden tools). I also keep a whole but very scruffy towel in the kitchen cupboard in case the washing machine floods, and one for in case builders are in so that I can put my good towels away don't have to worry about them needing to dry their hands at any point.

maypole

I would always go for 100% cotton, My experience of polycotton is that sheets go bobbly. They weren't cheapies either.

I have also had a couple of vintage unused linen sheets from ebay, they are gorgeous.

flutterbyuk25

MAke them into smaller squares and use them as cloths to wipe stuff up.

Or if you've got pets like dog/cat use them to dry them off when they come in sopping wet. Or put in pet bed instead of blanket.

Could you maybe use them as stuffing for cushions? (I'm not a maker of things so excuse me if that's wrong!)

Keep one in the car for when you need to transport dirty things to save dirtying seats/boot.

HTH

x

belfastgirl23

Just to say when you're replacing your bedding it's well worth a trip to TK Maxx. I just picked up a full bed set for a double bed in 180 thread count cotton for £14.99. This includes pillowcases and a bottom sheet as well as a duvet cover. It does take some patience and dropping in a few times but some great deals to be had.

I also use old cut up cloths for mopping up...my mum had a theory that a cloth was a dishcloth, then a floorcloth, then a car cleaning cloth.... I'm a bit the same.

Lemon_Tree

my local vets is always asking for towels etc for animals when they've had ops. They are always grateful, it's strange how them saying thank you makes you realise just how rude some charitiy shops are (there's a couple round here who act as if they are doing you a favour and never acknowledge you when you take stuff in)