Machine Embroidered Beach Towels
With summer coming up, I’m going to show y’all how I make these fun machine embroidered beach towels!
Machine Embroidered Beach Towels Tutorial
You will need:
- Beach Towel
- Design (For a Brother Machine you will need a PES file)
- Machine Embroidery Thread (I typically pick a color that will stand out from the towel itself)
- Embroidery Machine
- Iron
- Iron on Stabilizer
- Stabilizer Topping
1 | Wash the Towel
Beach towels often shrink a bit when you wash them, so it is best to wash them before you add any embroidery. I have made the mistake of embroidering on a towel before washing it only to have it shrink and pucker all around the design. The towels I got for this project are just from a cheap 2-pack from Walmart (Less than $10 for the pack.) They are cute and affordable!
2 | Add the Stabilizer to the Back
First, determine which side is the outside of the towel. Most towels, it is easy to tell, but some take a tidbit more examination. A good way to know for sure is to find the tag.
Starting with the iron-on-stabilizer, heat your iron and iron this stabilizer to the BACK of the towel where you would like the design to be. Remember that this is the reverse side of the towel, so you will need to pay attention to where you are placing the stabilizer.
Place the waxy side of the paper facing the back of the towel and press until it stays in place.
3 | Put it in the Hoop
Ok, so towels can be kinda tricky to get into the hoop because of their thickness. The beach towels are typically thinner and therefore easier to get into the hoop. The best way I have found is to loosen the hoop all the way, then press the towel in on a solid surface. Be careful not to over-tighten the hoop. This can cause the towel to pop out of the hoop.
3 | Add the Stabilizer Topping
Pin the stabilizer topping to the FRONT of the towel in the same area that you attached the iron-on-stabilizer. I just pin it in the corners of the hoop. I haven’t had much success getting the towel to stay inside the hoop when I have tried to add the stabilizer topping before placing it in the hoop.
DO NOT IRON THIS STABILIZER!
4 | Pick a Design
For this towel, I just used the lettering that was already on my machine, but the possibilities are endless! Some of my favorite places to find FREE Embroidery Designs are Embroidery Designs, Creative Fabrica, Ann the Gran, and Embroideres.
5 | Increase Stitch Density
This is super important when you are embroidering on towels! You don’t want those little loops sticking up through your design or the embroidery looking bare! On the Brother Embroidery Machines, it is the icon circled below:
From there it will take you to a screen that looks like this:
The default is 100%
Increase your stitch density. For towels, I increase the density as far as it will go, which, on this machine, is 120%.
6 | Embroider
Sit back and let your embroidery machine do its job.
7 | Remove the Hoop
Release the towel from the hoop. It should pop out fairly easily.
8 | Trim the Threads
Trim any long threads. I always do this BEFORE removing the stabilizer as it makes it much easier to trim the threads.
9 | Remove the Stabilizer
I start with the thicker stabilizer on the back of the towel.
Next, remove the stabilizer topping. This peels away much easier and will actually dissolve in water if you are not able to weed it all out.
10 | Enjoy!
Enjoy your custom Machine Embroidery Beach Towels!
If you enjoyed this Machine Embroidery Beach Towels Tutorial please share! As always, I’m happy to help you out if you have any questions, comments, or concerns! Just leave a message below!
You can find more embroidery tutorials here!
