The Teatowel Lady

What is a Tea Towel?

An Australian Souvenir Tea Towel designed by Ross

Not only is there a special time for the ritual of tea time, but it has its own towel. Tea towels have been both highly functional and decorative, moving during the last century from service to showpiece.

History

• The term "tea towel" originates in England and refers to the type of towel the lady of the house used to dry her china tea service as well as other valuable serving pieces.

Function

• The tea towel's highly absorbent, lint free, soft features appealed to ladies requiring the right towel to thoroughly dry their delicate china and serve ware. The material they're made from also provides a workable background for decorating with either embroidery or printing.

Features

• Tea towels are commonly made of linen. Linen fibers come from the flax or linseed plants, which provide the highly absorbent properties so important in the tea towel. Tea towels are also made from a linen cotton blend and various other fibers but only the pure linen is lint free.

Types

• The functional tea towel has been relegated to the cleaning shelf as a mundane dish towel by its cousin the decorative tea towel. Nineteenth century English ladies embroidered their tea towels for decorative usage during tea time to cover food. Decorative printed towels were hung on the wall. Tea towels have been printed with monarchs and other famous people, country scenes, nature themes, calendars, and even the map of the London underground.

Significance

• Tea towels are now sold  as souvenirs, particularly in Great Britain and Ireland but linen towels are still made to be used in the kitchen.