Calligraphy Roses Towels
Project Description
Embroidering on towels presents certain challenges, especially if the towel is terry cloth. For one thing, it can be hard to hoop a thick towel in a small home machine embroidery hoop. Secondly, the terry loops can interfere with the design, especially if the pile is thick and your design is thin.
After I completed roses in this collection, I decided to stitch some on some terry cloth hand towels. The thin satin strokes in these elegant designs were being covered by the terry loops.
One way to deal with that is to bump up the compensation to make the strokes “bolder” or fatter but I prefer to stick to modifications that can be reproduced by most any embroiderer.
My solution was to add a light background “mesh” fill of two layers of light density fill in opposing directions. I digitized these as separate designs and optimized the shape for each of the roses in the set. This is an easy thing to digitize but once again, not everyone has that ability.
When stitched on the towel behind the rose, the mesh fill flattens out the texture and allows the design to be more visible. If you stitch in a color that matches your towel, it virtually disappears. In the photos here the thread is reflecting more light than the towel so it’s more visible.
Another benefit of the mesh fill or knock-down stitching is it will keep the terry cloth from coming back up through your design
If you have Embrilliance Enthusiast, you can use the built-in knock-down option to get a similar effect that more closely follows the shape of the design and is, therefore, less visible.
The point is that just because you have a design that you want to stitch on a certain item doesn’t mean they will play nice together. You may have to make some accommodations.
Tip: The mesh fill adds extra stability to your project. I used a wash-away stabilizer and a water-soluble topping. This is a two-color design and if you match your bobbin thread color, you’ll have a pretty front and back.
Credits
Designed and made by Lindee Goodall (4/9/2014)
Products Used
All Designs
