Since its humble beginnings as a drying cloth, the tea towel has taken its place around a loaf of freshly baked bread, as a decorative runner on a tea table or a dining table, and even as a valance along a curtain rod. Whether family heirlooms or gifts from friends, tea towels may be considered by some to be too fragile to enjoy as anything other than adornment. But these linens are more than delicate decoration. Even vintage tea towels found in antiques shops or passed down through generations were—and are—meant to be used and shared.
