Embroidery is a hobby everyone should try out at least once. It helps you practice patience and creativity and is a great way to personalize your belongings. Whether they're clothes or a towel set, you'll be able to monogram any cloth and make it your own.
However, embroidering towels isn't the same as embroidering any other cloth. The thickness and fluffiness of towels make the process a little more complicated. But, with the right equipment and guidelines, even a beginner can embroider their towel sets.
Once you learn to embroider your towels, embroidering any other cloth will be a piece of cake for you! Plus, you'll get much better at personalized gift-giving.
If you're a beginner wanting to personalize your towel sets, we've got what you're looking for. Keep reading for a complete guide on how to embroider towels sets yourself. In addition, we'll tell you how much the whole process will cost. Hint: it's not much!
How to Embroider Towel Sets
Here is all you need to know about how to embroider towel sets, along with some tips to keep in mind.
Materials
Of course, the first step to embroidering towel sets is gathering the right materials.
Firstly, you must pick the right towels. While you're still practicing, it's best to buy Dollar Store towels in bulk. Once you've learned how to embroider towels with a clean and refined finish, you can move on to higher-end brands such as Mizu Towels to upgrade your home linens.
Although picking the thread is mainly a matter of preference, we'd recommend opting for a polyester thread. That's because polyester thread is vibrant and has intense shine and fade-resistance.
Next, you'll need pins, embroidery needles, scissors, a tearaway stabilizer, and an embroidery hoop.
Stabilizer
A common mistake made while embroidering towels is trying to hoop them. However, towels are too thick to fit into an embroidery hoop, and attempting it will only damage your towels. Instead, you can use a tearaway stabilizer.
If you're wondering what that is, a tearaway stabilizer is a fragile and easy-to-tear fabric used in embroidery. First, you can hoop the tearaway stabilizer in the embroidery hoop of your choice. You must pick the embroidery hoop based on the size of the design you plan to embroider.
Next, you can stick the towel to the tearaway stabilizer using a spray adhesive, so you can start embroidering. Finally, you can simply tear away the stabilizer piece by piece until no traces are left after you're done with your project.
We'd recommend opting for a multi-directional or bi-directional tearaway stabilizer since that provides ease of removal. Tearaway stabilizers that can only be torn in one direction are very difficult to remove.
Picking a Design
Naturally, the next step is to pick the design you want to embroider. The most common type of embroidery you'll see on towel sets is monogramming. Not only does it personalize your linen stylishly, but it also makes for a great gift.
You can pick between a traditional monogram or a straightforward, modern initial. Traditional monogramming works best for a married couple or family. It requires you to place the last name initial in the middle, the man's initial on the right, and the woman's initial on the left.
On the other hand, modern monogramming allows for a lot more versatility. For example, you can simply opt for a single first name initial in a decorative border. Otherwise, you can embroider the first and last name initials in bold letters on the towel's edge.
If monogramming is not your thing, you can monogram any other type of design. We'd recommend opting for outlined art as a beginner. Then, you can move on to more sophisticated and complex designs.
Monogram Placement
If you have decided to monogram your towel set, after all, you should know the proper monogram placement and etiquette. Monogram placement differs based on each type of towel in your set. Firstly, the monogram should be placed on the side opposite the label. 
Here's how you should place the monogram on each type of towel.
- Washcloths: 1.5 inch above the hem or 1 inch above the border.
- Hand towels: 2 inches above the hem or 1.5 inch above the border.
- Bath towels: 4 inches above the hem or 2 inches above the border.
- Oversized bath towels: 4 inches above the hem or 3 inches above the border.
- Bath sheets: 2 inches above the wide hemline on the top side of the sheet.
- Napkins: 2 inches from the corner point or 1 inch above a decorative border.
- Handkerchiefs: 1.5 inch from the corner point.
Hand Embroidery
If you're embroidering your towel set on a machine, here's a step-by-step guide on how to do so efficiently.
- Step 1: Wash, dry, and press the towels from your towel set.
- Step 2: Place the tearaway stabilizer into the embroidery hoop.
- Step 3: Stick the towel to the tearaway stabilizer using a spray adhesive.
- Step 4: Trace your design or monogram and start stitching.
- Step 5: Once finished, tear away the excess stabilizer.
Once your embroidery is complete, you can machine wash and dry the towel set. Pressing on the wrong side of the towel will help the embroidery stand out more.
Machine Embroidery
If you're embroidering your towel set on a machine, here's a step-by-step guide on how to do it the right way.
- Step 1: Wash and dry your towels, and pick your design.
- Step 2: Print two copies of the design. You'll be using one as a template and the other as a copy of the thread list.
- Step 3: Place the stabilizer into the embroidery hoop and stick to the towel using an adhesive spray.
- Step 4: Mark the template's center, horizontal, and vertical axis lines.
- Step 5: Place the template on the towel and align the axis lines with the hoop's marks.
- Step 6: Load the design into your embroidery machine. Then, you can thread the machine with the color of your choice.
- Step 7: Attach the hoop to the machine.
- Step 8: Position the embroidery needle in the center of the design to start embroidering.
- Step 9: Change the thread when the machine indicates it.
- Step 10: Once you're done embroidering, tear away the rest of the stabilizer, leaving about half an inch around the threadwork.
Lastly, you can machine wash and dry the towel on a gentle cycle.
Cleaning Up
When it's finally time to clean your embroidery, you can use a nipper to trim off the excess stabilizer more precisely. In addition, spraying the stabilizer with some water will help dissolve it quicker.
Towel Set Embroidery Tips
Lastly, let's talk about some tips and tricks to keep in mind while embroidering towels.
If your design is mostly an outline, you should embroider the emphasized lines with 4-6 strands of embroidery floss. On the other hand, you should embroider the minimal lines with 2-3 strands of embroidery floss for a more 3D appearance.
We would also recommend working with 20 inches strands of embroidery floss.
How Much Will It Cost to Embroider a Towel Set?
Typically, it will cost around $6 to $12 to embroider a towel set, depending on the size and complexity of the design.
However, if you get the job done by a professional embroiderer, they'll most likely charge you by stitches per garment. Consequently, the cost of getting a towel set professionally embroidered will be much higher than simply doing it yourself.
Why Should I Embroider a Towel Set?
There's an endless list of reasons to learn how to embroider a towel set. Not only is it a fun skill set to have, but it also adds a lot to your gift-giving talents. In fact, there's a different type of embroidered towel for everyone.
For example, a family-monogrammed towel set works as the perfect wedding shower gift. You can also gift the happy couple a pair of monogrammed robes! Additionally, embroidered hooded bath towels are great for babies.
You can also embroider a set of beach towels for the surfer or sea-lover in your life. Other than that, if you're looking for the perfect gift for a hostess, you can embroider a set of hand towels.
There's nothing people love more than a personalized gift, and what better way to personalize something than monogramming it? Learning to embroider and monogram towels will come in handy more than you think.
Plus, it's the best way to upgrade the linens of your home!
Conclusion
Now that you know how to embroider towel sets, you'll be able to personalize the ones at home and gift some to your loved ones. Plus, you'll get even better at embroidering any other type of cloth!
If you're looking for high-quality towels to embroider and monogram, Mizu Towels has the best range of premium towels for you. Their antibacterial towel set is the perfect canvas to work on and gift to your friends and family.