What you’ll need
- 1-plain
- 1-plaid
- 1-check
- 1-border stripe
- Oven Mitts in complimentary colors
- Embroidery thread in colors to compliment towels and as stated in color sequence
- Fusible polymesh stabilizer
- Sewing thread
- Print outs of the designs to use as templates
Featured Design Pack
https://www.grandslamdesigns.com/kitchen-craft-embroidery-design-pack-5?variant=1
Notes
- For this project three of the designs from the pack were chosen.
- Use quality towels for this project.
- The plain towel will be cut up into two sections, one for the top part of a towel and the other part for a pocket of the checkered towel.
- After testing it was found that tearaway and washaway stabilizers were not a good choice for stitching the designs on the towels, but a fusible poly mesh was!
- For each of the towels, cut a piece of fusible poly mesh larger than the hoop.
- Before hooping the towel, lightly fuse the stabilizer to the back of the towel before hooping.
- After the design is stitched, remove the embroidery from the hoop and lightly heat up the back of the stabilizer and lift it up around the embroidery and trim away the excess.
Towel 1
- The first towel is the easiest to do; it is just embroidering on the towel.
- Choose the towel with the woven border.
- Press the towel well, using spray starch
- Make note of where the hanging tape is on the top of the towel; the opposite side of the towel is what will be embroidered.
- Fold the towel in half lengthwise.
- Cut the design out of the printed paper and center it as desired above the border.
- Pin the template in place.
- Fuse the stabilizer to the back of the towel and hoop the towel, centering the design.
- Place the hoop on the machine with the largest portion of the towel to the front of the machine so it doesn’t get caught in the embroidery arm as it stitches.
- Load the design on the machine and select the thread colors.
- Remove the paper template and stitch the design following the color sequence.
- Trim the jump stitches which is easiest done while the fabric is still in the hoop.
Towel Two
- Towel two uses two of the towels: the tan plaid and the plain towel.
- Fold the plain towel in half and cut into two pieces; the width of the towel will probably be slightly narrower than the plaid towel.
- Cut off all the hemmed edges of both towels.
- Measure to determine how deep the border should be using the plaid towel, plus ½” seam allowances for the top and bottom.
- Square up the plain towel.
- Cut the sides of the plaid towel to match the width of the plain towel.
- Create a flat felled seam. With right sides together, offset the plaid towel ¼” from the cut edge of the plain towel and sew a ¼” seam from the cut edge of the plaid towel. Press the seam toward the plaid fabric.
- Flip the seam over and press the plain seam up to the stitching line.
- Open up the two pieces of fabric and press the folded seam toward the plaid fabric.
- Edge stitch along the folded seam as shown.
- Press the seam well.
- Along the top, bottom and sides, double fold the fabric and hem.
- Cut out the template of the design and center as desired above the plaid border.
- Fuse the stabilizer to the back of the fabric and hoop.
- Load the Potatoes design on the machine and load the threads.
- Place the hoop on the machine, remove the template.
- Stitch the design following the color sequence.
- Remove the fabric from the hoop and trim away the excess stabilizer.
- Press the towel and fold.
Towel Three
- Towel three uses the remaining plain fabric to create a pocket to be placed on the checked towel.
- Measure the size of the pocket desired, add seam allowances and cut out of the plain fabric.
- Cut out the design template and center and place on the pocket right side.
- Fuse the stabilizer to the back of the fabric and hoop the fabric.
- Stitch the designs following the color sequence.
- Trim the jump stitches while the fabric is still in the hoop.
- Fold the pocket in half, right sides together.
- Stitch the pocket along the top and both sides, leaving the bottom open.
- Turn the pocket right side out, forming the corners well and press,
- Find the center bottom of the pocket.
- Place the pocket, right side down, centered on the checkered towel. Place the bottom of the pocket where you’ll want the bottom of the pocket to end up when finished.
- To make the pocket bow a little bit when finished, create a tuck on each side of the pocket bottom as shown—these only need to be about a ½” tuck each.
- Pin the pocket bottom in place.
- Stitch the bottom of the pocket in place and then use a zig-zag stitch to secured and finish the end.
- Following the lines of the towel, pin the pocket left and right sides in place; the tucks help to create fullness at the top for inserting things like tongs or a spice jar in the pocket.
- Load the sewing machine with thread to match the pocket fabric.
- Select the blanket stitch and stitch the pocket sides in place.
- Attach a ribbon at the top of the towel so it can be tied to the grill handle or to an apron.
- The matching mitt completes the set.
Conclusion
Congratulations! Whether for yourself or a gift, learning new ways to use embroidery designs increases your enjoyment of stitching. There is no doubt your project will be a “Grand Slam!”
By the "Grand Slam Designs" Team
