How to Embroider Towels by Machine: A Complete Guide

Whether you’re trying to bring new life to old towels or want unique designs on your beach towel, embroidering towels is a fun challenge that personalizes simple accessories. There are so many design options to choose from, like monograms or floral patterns. While the thickness of this material may intimidate some, embroidering towels by machine is quite simple with the right supplies! 

In this guide, you’ll learn how to embroider towels by machine—from preparing your towel, choosing the right stabilizer, and hooping the layers, to stitching, cleanup, and finishing touches. You’ll also pick up tips on how to monogram towels for crisp, visible results every time. Let's dive in!

Why Towels Present a Special Challenge

Terry cloth towels are made up of dense loops—perfect for soaking up water, not so much for stabilizing stitches. The pile can swallow your embroidery, causing letters to disappear or designs to look fuzzy unless you take special precautions.

Common challenges include:

• Stitches sinking into the pile

• Hoop marks
  

• Fabric shifting or puckering
  

• Designs lost in the texture

With the right stabilizer, hooping technique, and design choices, these issues become easy to manage.c

How to Embroider Towels by Machine

Gather Your Supplies

To get professional results, you’ll need:

• An embroidery machine
  

• Towels (medium to thick weight, tightly woven)
  

• Tear-away stabilizer (or cut-away for heavier designs)
  

• Water-soluble topper (a must for the pile)
  

• Embroidery thread (polyester or rayon)
  

• Sharp embroidery needle
  

• Spray adhesive or pins (optional)
  

• Spray marking pen or template for placement

1. Pre-Wash & Prepare Your Towel

Wash and dry the towel before embroidery to remove any sizing agents, shrinkage potential, or residue. If your towel wrinkles, give it a gentle press to smooth the surface—you want a flat, clean fabric to work with.

2. Design & Placement Tips

• Choose thicker fonts and bold designs—thin lettering disappears in terry loops
  

• Common placement: center or just above the towel’s decorative border
  

• Monograms, names, small logos, and simple motifs are ideal beginner choices

If your embroidery software supports it, print a placement sheet or use a water-soluble marker to locate the exact embroidery position.

3. Stabilizing Towels for Machine Embroidery

When embroidering thick materials like towels, it’s best to avoid hooping the towel directly. Instead, we use a method called floating. This technique allows the towel to sit on top of the hooped stabiliser rather than being tightly clamped in the hoop, which can distort the fabric or compress the pile.

Floating is especially helpful not just for thick items like towels, but also for stretchy or awkwardly shaped fabrics—like knits or small accessories—that don’t fit neatly into a hoop.

• Hoop the Stabilizer Only
  Start by hooping a piece of tear-away stabilizer. Make sure it’s taut and smooth within the hoop.
  
• Mark the Centre
  Use a pencil to draw a crosshair or guide mark on the stabilizer to help align your design.
  
• Apply Temporary Adhesive
  Lightly spray the hooped stabilizer with temporary adhesive. This creates a tacky surface for your towel to rest on without shifting.
  
• Position Your Towel
  Carefully place the towel on top of the sticky stabilizer, using the marked center as a guide. Press gently to secure it in place.

With this setup, your towel stays secure during stitching without being compressed by the hoop, helping preserve both the shape of the fabric and the clarity of your design.

Avoid hooping the towel too tightly—otherwise you'll see hoop marks or distorted embroidery later.

4. Threading Your Machine

• Use a polyester or rayon embroidery thread on top for durability and color retention
  

• Use a strong bobbin thread (white or matching)
  

• Use an embroidery needle that matches your towel’s thickness

Set your tension and thread path according to your embroidery machine manual. A quick test on scrap scrap helps fine-tune the settings.

5. Embroidery Execution

• Load your design into the machine and position the hoop carefully
  

• Start stitching slowly, watching for thread breaks or puckering
  

• If your design is dense, have plenty of stabilizer support underneath

Once stitching is complete, remove the hoop gently. Avoid pulling the towel off abruptly.

6. Trimming & Finishing

• Remove jump threads with small scissors
  

• Tear away backing stabilizer gently
  

• Wash away or rinse off the water-soluble topper—if using
  

• Press from the back side using a cloth to protect stitches

This gives your towel a final press to ensure a crisp, polished look.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Creative Ideas for Towels

Some beginner-friendly embroidery ideas include:

• Monogram initials or family names
  

• Simple floral corner motifs
  

• Nautical icons like anchors or shells
  

• Holiday motifs (pumpkins, stars) near towel borders
  

• Housewarming icons (keys, wine glasses)

Start small and build your confidence with crisp lettering or single-colour motifs.

Why Use an OMTech Embroidery Machine?

Your best designs deserve a reliable machine. OMTech embroidery machines offer:

• Accurate, consistent stitch control
  

• Built-in hoops and stabilizer compatibility
  

• Software support for placement and editing
  

• Affordability without compromising quality

Whether you're stitching towels, shirts, or accessories, OMTech machines help ensure your work looks sharp and professional every time.

Final Thoughts

Embroidering towels by machine is both fun and functional. With pre-washing, proper stabilisation, careful hooping, and smart thread choices, you can create gorgeous, long-lasting embroidered towels. For personalized monograms or creative gifts, machine embroidery turns ordinary linens into something special