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How to make a Pastry Cloth…and WHY you need one!
April 28, 2014 - By Ashley Johnston 112 Comments
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So excited to have Cami from Tidbits here again today, sharing the ‘How’s’ and ‘Why’s’ of a Pastry Cloth. I’ve never used one before but am off to the fabric store……..ASAP! Very cool.
-Ashley. . . . .Have you ever used a pastry cloth?
Have you ever heard of a pastry cloth?
Do you ever work with dough?
Maybe pizza dough, cookie dough, pie crust, bread dough, pastries . . . .
Chances are you have, or will at some point. Or most certainly, you know someone who bakes such things.
Well, then. You need a pastry cloth.
This is my sister. She is beautiful. And she bakes. She is a beautiful baker!
We can count on her to bake something beautiful at every family gathering.
She discovered an old tattered pastry cloth at the bottom of my mothers linen drawer, and she has never looked back. As a baker, she LOVES using a pastry cloth and swears everyone needs one.
But you see, she wanted one in better condition than the one she stole from our mother. That’s where I come in. I don’t bake. At least not very good, and when I do I eat it all and get fat ;)
But I do sew.
So in exchange for plastering her and her daughters face all over the web, I made her a pastry cloth.
And now, we both want to shout it out to the world, why we think you need a pastry cloth – and why you should make one for everyone you love.
So, here are the 6 reasons:
 All you have to do is sprinkle flour onto the cloth, rub it around with your hands – and any dough you put on it will lift beautifully from the cloth. No sticky residue, and no scrapping the dough off your counter. It is amazing! Even a 3 year old can do it!
As you have seen from the pictures, sugar cookie cutouts work great!
Have you ever had a hard time picking up your pie crust and getting it to your pie pan?
You can roll the crust so easily onto the rolling pin. It lifts right up.
Then set it carefully into the pan.
No longer will you need to piece together broken crust.
Or lets say you have a sticky bread dough which may get too heavy if you add any more flour.
Simply spray your cloth with cooking spray and slap the bread dough on the cloth to knead and shape.
 It lifts right up! So incredible!
Onto the second reason.
We love little helpers! But lets face it, they can sometimes make the job harder when you have double the mess to clean up. Just have them work right next to you on the cloth, and save yourself from having to scrub wet flour glued to your table.
Speaking of scrubbing – NO MORE OF THAT!!
Just head outdoors and give the cloth a shake (if you used flour). Throw it into your laundry and it comes out clean again. Wahoo!!
However, sometimes baking can bring a mess that can’t be scrubbed up, such as nicks and scrapes from metal such as knifes and cookie cutters.
Pastry cloth to the rescue – again!
If you don’t have indestructible counter tops such as granite, something like a cookie cutter can leave it’s mark. We have just installed DIY concrete counter tops (
which by the way, I will be posting about in detail very soon on my blog) and I have to worry about such things. I love my counter tops and they are beautiful, but I want to keep them that way. Thank you pastry cloth!
Next reason: such a wonderful thing must be shared, right?
Mothers day anyone? (Hint, hint.) Or sew a batch of them for handy homemade gifts whenever you need them.
Although, if you are going to sew a batch of them it is good to know that they are . . .
Yes they are.
Cheap: total cost (with a 50% off coupon from Joann’s App) was only $6 for the fabric! Wow!
Quick: Maybe an hour. But only if you get hung up on perfectly pressed seams like I do.
Easy:Â The perfect
beginner project. If you have never sewn a stitch, I am pretty sure you can do this.
Are you ready to make one? Or two? Or twenty?Â
Step 1: Buy your fabric. The fabric type is important. You will need a utility fabric called unbleached Drill. I found mine at Joann’s. It is very similar to canvas. In fact, I imagine duck canvas may even work if you had some already on hand. I believe Drill is the same fabric they use for ironing board covers. Good thick stuff. You will need 2 yards. And be sure to pre-wash!
Step 2: Measure and cut 2 pieces of fabric in the dimensions of 36 x 24 inches. But really, you could cut it out any size you want (this is just the size we prefer and used here).
Step 3: I wanted to spruce mine up a bit. I have a slight obsession with grain sack prints, so I taped off my lines with frog tape. You could choose any type of pattern or style. If you choose to use paint, only paint one of the pieces and leave the other piece untouched. You want a clean surface for the working side.
Step 4: Use craft paint or fabric paint for your design and heat set the paint. To do this, place a scrap piece of fabric on top of the painted surface and briefly apply heat with an iron.
Step 5: Place your 2 cut pieces together. There are no right or wrong sides to this fabric, but just be sure that if you did a design, you place that inside. Place double pins to mark an opening where you will not sew. You need to do this so you can turn the cloth right side out. Pin sporadically around the 2 layers so they stay together while you sew.
Step 6: Beginning at the double pins, sew a seam with 1/2 inch seam allowance all around, stopping at the next set of double pins. Be sure you are using an appropriate needle type. Universal needle size 14, is what I used. You could also use a Denim needle.
Step 8: This is where I go all perfectionist. Good pressed seams will make your project look that much more professional. First, lay your fabric down and open up your seam and press carefully separating the seam allowances.
Step 9: Turn it over and do the same to the other side of the same seam allowance. Do this for each seam all around the cloth. When you come to the part where you left the opening, press it just the same as you are your seams.
Step 10: Reach your hand thought the opening and turn it right side out. Find something pointy (but not sharp) and shape your corners.
Step 11:Â Now press your seams again, getting them to lay nice and flat.
Step 12: Topstitch 1/4 of an inch away from the edge. Increase your stitch length when you do this. I like to use the highest number of stitch length on my machine for my topstitches. This topstitch will also close off the opening all in one step.
Step 13: For an extra sharp look, stitch another topstitch 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch away from your first one. This is called a double topstitch.
Step 14: And just because you can, press those seams again! This will help with any waving and somehow makes those stitches look even better.
You are done! Super easy!
Now go and bake something up and test your pastry cloth out! You will be amazed! Here at my house we now have a surplus of cookie dough, pie crust, and whole wheat bread. Ha! The things we do for the sake of a picture. (And a special thanks to my sis and her little one.)
Enjoy! And I would LOVE to hear if you try it out!
-Cami