Woven cotton novelty dog tea towel depicting chic poodles.
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Dishing Up The Dog Towels
Lucy Scott
A recent picnic tea with an old dog breeding friend brought back some childhood
memories of standing at the sink bench with my mother, carefully drying dishes. On this occasion my friend had brought along delicious scones, plump with fruit
sitting in a basket draped in a cleverly cross-stitched tea towel. Depicted on
the towel was an irresistibly handsome Scottish terrier complete with chef's
hat, carrying a tray of baking.
Even without the other six days of the week this beautifully worked little Thursday foundling will fetch in the region of $15.
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It reminded me of the dog dish towels we had in our house as a child. A playful puppy for each day of the week (and the wrath of siblings would come down upon you if you used a 'Monday' towel on a Thursday!). The advent of the dishwasher, fast food in plastic containers and the demise of home cooking has somewhat seen the tea towel relegated to the box with grandma's knickers and napkins. Most housekeepers today would no sooner settle down in a quiet moment to embroider a plain towel as fly to the moon! The humble tea towel (or dish towel as it is often known) has a colorful history (in a literal sense) with examples ranging from subdued and sensible plain linen towels to the wonderful florid designs so popular in the souvenir shops and tourist gift bags.
Much of the hand-made work originated from Monarch, Superior and like brands, cross-stitch iron-on transfers patterns. These are often still available. Why not get yourself a set and make your own heirloom.
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Thankfully there is a quiet but eager little niche of collectors out there who are snapping up the vintage dog tea towels and dish towels and along the way doing their part to preserve the handiwork of previous generations of housewives, along with the designers who brought us the printed towels. Hand-embroidered dog towels are very collectible. The "Days of the Week"
(DOW) towels can still be found in complete sets with common themes being
Scottie dogs (Scottish terriers), and those great 1950s spaghetti poodles who
lend themselves to being reproduced in linen and cotton with such style. The workmanship ranges from primitive to delicate works of art which should have
become family heirlooms! Cross stitched or embroidered vintage dog towels are desirable not only for their originality but for the 'hand' that went in to
making them.
As the 20th century progressed time became a valuable commodity and mass production techniques meant fewer housewives being crafty with their own
linen to cheer up the kitchen. It wasn't just the housewife putting dog designs on tea towels 60 years ago. The 1950s saw fabric designers and artists putting their mark on the humble towel.
Tammis Keefe designed dog dish towel.
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More from Tammis Keefe.
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For example, keep an eye out for the work of Tammis Keefe. Well known for her handkerchiefs and as a designer for Kimbal Scarves, her designs worked equally well in the kitchen. Born in 1920 (she died at the age of 40), Keefe's work in the 1950s is typical of the era, being both whimsical and chic. Her signature on an item guarantees a design from her drawing board. Vintage dog tea towels can be picked up for very reasonable prices at yard sales, flea markets, second-hand stores, thrift stores and online, making them a great launching point to the dog collectible market. This niche has the potential for plenty of crossover collecting.
Just can't resist those poodle tea towels.
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Are you going to be able to resist the purchase of the Scottish Terrier salt and pepper set that EXACTLY MATCHES your Scottie embroidered tea towels? I thought not!
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