Embroidering on Terrycloth Towels

It is the time of year when we are deluged with input (store displays, magazine ads, emails, etc.) that suggests we should start working on projects for the holidays. A popular gift is a set of towels with an embroidery design. This blog is for readers who have had problems with embroidery on towel materials.

The design that I used for this towel is one of a set of 10 new designs from Floriani. Pictures of two wall-hangings that include all ten designs are at the bottom of this blog. Would you like a set of these designs for FREE? – At the Tech Parties that will be starting the week of August 12, 2013, George Moore will tell you how you can get the designs. Call your local Moore’s Sewing Center to tell them what session you prefer to attend – the morning from 9am to noon or the afternoon from 2pm to 5pm session.

Supplies:
Towel
Needle – 75/11 sharp
Stabilizer – cutaway (2.5 ounce) and a topper
Design choice – avoid Redwork or running-stitch designs on terrycloth

Terrycloth has a high loft and a loose weave. Three primary things you have to consider are:

Stabilizer:
There are three main types of stabilizer – cutaway, tear-away and wash-away which is sometimes referred to as water-soluble.

I know that most of you think that you should use wash-away stabilizer so you won’t see the stabilizer on the backside of the towel. However, terrycloth comes in loose through dense versions and the fabric usually is not very stable size-wise over the life of the towel.

Cutaway stabilizer is the best choice. The cutaway stabilizer minimizes size change of the terrycloth under the design and reduces stretch or contraction in the design as the towel ages. The embroidery design will stitch out better and the stabilizer will also support the design for the life of the towel.

Topping:
When working on fabrics with a high loft, such as a terrycloth towel, a topping usually improves the final result. The topping is placed on top of the towel and hooped to keep the stitches from sinking down into the pile.

There is a variety of different items that can be used as topping.

Water-soluble topping is a good choice for designs that have many open spaces within the design and/or a very irregular perimeter. No cutting or tearing around delicate stitching or in many small areas is needed.

Tulle or netting can serve as a topping when the design stitching covers all the area within the design’s border. After the embroidery is finished, tear the tulle or netting away.

Hooping: It’s time to get down to business….
1. For best results, the towel should be hooped with the stabilizer and topping. If the towel is not hooped, sections of the design may become misaligned during the sewing process. Towel fabric is NOT a good candidate for basting to the stabilizer.
2. To help secure the hoop from moving on your work surface while you are wrestling with the towel, cover an area of your work surface larger than the hoop with rubberized shelf liner. You can reroll the shelf liner for reuse on a bigger project if you don’t cut the shelf liner. Just unroll an amount with some extra area around the extreme dimensions of the hoop.

3. Place the outer hoop on the shelf liner and loosen the hoop screw.
4. Place a piece of cutaway stabilizer on the hoop. The stabilizer must be large enough to be clamped by the hoop on all sides.

5. Place the towel over the stabilizer.

6. Add a piece of topping that is large enough to be clamped by the hoop along all edges. Tulle is being used for this project. The topping helps to stabilize the loops on the towel. Tulle does a good job of stabilizing because the tulle has very little ‘give’ or stretchiness.

7. Place the inner hoop ring over the ‘sandwich’ and gently snap into place.
8. Hold the hoop ‘assembly’ down with one hand as you tighten the screw.
9. After the sewing has finished, remove the towel from the hoop and tear the excess topping away.
10. Turn the towel over to access the back side of the embroidery. Trim away all excess stabilizer along the outer edge of the design. Trim as close to the design as you can without cutting any of the embroidery stitches or the towel loops.