Table of Contents
Watch the video: “Embroidering on Tea Towels” by OESD
If you’ve ever stitched a cute design on a tea towel and ended up with puckers, shifting, or fuzzy stitches sinking into the weave—you’re not alone. This guide walks you through the exact steps shown in OESD’s tutorial to help you get crisp, long-lasting results on kitchen towels you’ll actually want to display.
What you’ll learn
- How to choose a quality tea towel that won’t sabotage your stitches
- Why tear-away, pressure-sensitive stabilizer is a smart pick for towels
- A foolproof method to place designs using printed templates
- When and how to use topper for clean, defined stitch edges
- Finishing steps for a neat back and beautiful press
Choosing the Right Tea Towel
Why Quality Matters A tea towel’s fabric is your foundation. In the video, the presenter emphasizes starting with a high-quality towel that can handle dense stitching and frequent laundering. If the fabric is weak or prone to shrinking, no stabilizer can fully save the result.
Introducing OESD Start Here Tea Towels OESD’s Start Here Embroidery Blanks Tea Towels are showcased and specifically tested to resist shrinkage and hold stitches well. That means your designs stay smooth without the dreaded post-wash puckering. These towels come ready to embroider—no pre-wash required.
To Pre-Wash or Not to Pre-Wash For OESD Start Here Tea Towels, pre-washing isn’t necessary according to the video. If a towel is very wrinkly, a quick press is advised. The presenter even compares a freshly stitched towel with one that’s been washed and dried post-embroidery—both look beautiful and stable, with no visible puckering or shrinkage.
Quick check
- Is your towel sturdy with a tight enough weave to support embroidery?
- If it’s wrinkly, give it a light press before you start.
Selecting Your Stabilizer: Tear-Away vs. Cut-Away
Why Tear-Away is Best for Tea Towels Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need cut-away for tea towels. The video recommends tear-away for many designs, which keeps the back cleaner and avoids that cut-away “shadow.” This is particularly helpful on towels where the reverse can be visible.
OESD Stabilizer Options: Ultra Clean and Tear Plus & StabilStick Two pressure-sensitive (sticky) tear-away options appear: Ultra Clean and Tear Plus—a hybrid wash-away/tear-away whose fibers break down with laundering—and StabilStick, a crisp tear-away that removes cleanly from the design’s open areas. In the tutorial, StabilStick is used. Choose based on how often the towel will be laundered and how much removal access you’ll have after stitching.
Pro tip If you can remove most stabilizer from the open stitched areas, a crisp tear-away like StabilStick gives an especially tidy back.
Hooping and Fabric Preparation
Hooping Your Sticky Stabilizer Hoop your StabilStick snugly and smooth. The stabilizer—not the towel—goes in the hoop. Keeping it drum-tight minimizes movement so your design stays perfectly placed.
Scoring and Exposing the Adhesive Using OESD’s Perfect Scoring Tool, lightly score around the hoop’s inner edge and then make a gentle X across the center. This is just to lift the paper backing—don’t press so hard that you cut the stabilizer itself. Peel the paper away to reveal the sticky surface.
Watch out
- Do not score through the stabilizer; if you accidentally cut it, re-hoop a new piece.
- Keep the sticky area clean and free of lint so adhesion remains strong.
Marking Your Tea Towel’s Center Fold the towel lengthwise and finger-press a long center crease—your alignment lifesaver. It’s a simple step that pays off with accurate placement and straight designs.
Achieving Perfect Design Placement with Templates
Printing and Trimming Your Design Template OESD StabilStick Template Sheets turn your design into a full-scale sticker so you can visualize the final look. Print your chosen design from any embroidery software, then trim the template around the artwork.
Visualizing Placement on Your Tea Towel Align the template’s crosshair with the towel’s finger-pressed center line and adjust the height for your desired composition. This lets you preview the exact position before a single stitch is placed.
Adhering to the Hooped Stabilizer Place your towel—with the template still on—onto the exposed sticky stabilizer in the hoop. Smooth out any ripples so the towel lies flat and centered. Important: remove the template sheet before stitching. It’s only for placement and should never be sewn through.
Pro tip Take a quick photo of the towel with the template in place. It’s a handy reference to confirm the look before you commit.
The Importance of Topper for Crisp Stitches
Why Use a Topper on Towels? A topper prevents stitches from sinking into the towel’s weave, keeping details sharp and lettering legible. This is especially useful on textured or looped fabrics.
OESD Topper Options: Stitch2O & Heat2Go The video shows two topper choices: Stitch2O (water-soluble) and Heat2Go (heat-removable). Either will help raise your stitches above the fabric texture. For the demo, Stitch2O is used because it tears away easily and any remnants dissolve in the wash.
Applying and Embroidering with Topper Cut a piece of topper slightly larger than the stitch area and secure it with tear-away tape if needed. Remove the printed template sheet, confirm your setup, and begin stitching. Let the machine complete the design while the topper ensures clear, crisp edges.
Quick check
- Is the topper fully covering the stitch area?
- Did you remove the template sheet before pressing start?
Finishing Your Tea Towel: Cleanup and Backing
Tearing Away Topper and Stabilizer Once stitching is complete, gently tear away the majority of the topper. It’s often easiest to do this before removing the towel from the hoop. Unhoop the towel and tear the tear-away stabilizer from the back—always pulling away from the embroidery to avoid distortion.
The Optional: Covering the Back with Gentle Touch If you prefer an ultra-clean back (or want a softer feel), fuse OESD Gentle Touch Backing over the stitched area. Cut a piece slightly larger than the design, round the corners, and fuse in place with an iron. It stays put through laundering and gives a polished finish on the reverse.
Pressing for a Professional Finish Finally, press the towel face down using a protective press cloth to smooth the stitches and refresh the towel’s texture. This extra step elevates the overall look—great for gifting or display.
Watch out Never yank stabilizer toward the stitches—tearing into the design can warp threads or cause pulls. Always tear away from the embroidery in small sections.
From the comments At the time of writing, there were no public questions or tips posted alongside this video. If you’re curious about variations, consider testing on a scrap corner of your towel before committing to your final placement.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
- My stitches look sunken into the towel.
Likely cause: No topper or insufficient topper coverage. Use a topper that fully spans the stitch area before starting.
- The back looks messy.
Tear-away stabilizer helps you avoid the shadow of cut-away. For a polished reverse side, fuse Gentle Touch Backing after you’ve removed stabilizer.
- The design is slightly off-center.
Make sure you finger-press a clear center line and align template crosshairs carefully before adhering the towel to the sticky stabilizer. Double-check that the towel is smoothed flat with no twisting.
- I’m worried about shrinkage.
The video demonstrates OESD Start Here Tea Towels after washing and shows no visible shrinkage or puckering on the stitched sample.
Safety and care reminders
- Score lightly—if you cut through the stabilizer, re-hoop a new piece.
- Always tear stabilizer away from the stitches.
- Press with a protective cloth and avoid excessive heat on specialty materials unless specified.
Supplies seen in the video
- OESD Start Here Embroidery Blanks Tea Towels
- OESD StabilStick (crisp tear-away, pressure-sensitive)
- OESD Ultra Clean and Tear Plus (hybrid wash-away/tear-away, pressure-sensitive)
- OESD StabilStick Template Sheets
- OESD Stitch2O (water-soluble topper)
- OESD Heat2Go (heat-removable topper)
- OESD Gentle Touch Backing (lightweight fusible)
- OESD Perfect Scoring Tool
- Tear Away Tape, embroidery thread, hoop, iron, protective press cloth
Machine note A Bernina embroidery model is shown in the video; specific machine settings (speed, tension, etc.) are not specified. Follow your machine’s standard recommendations for woven towels and your chosen design’s density.
Project recap
- Start with a stable, high-quality tea towel.
- Choose a pressure-sensitive tear-away stabilizer and hoop it tight.
- Score and remove the paper backing to reveal the adhesive.
- Mark the towel’s center and use a printed template for exact placement.
- Use a topper to keep stitches crisp.
- Tear away topper and stabilizer, then optionally fuse Gentle Touch on the back.
- Press face down for a polished finish.
Planning your next towel Once you’ve mastered placement and topper technique, expand with seasonal motifs, monograms, or herb designs similar to the sample shown. The method remains the same: careful prep, precise placement, smart stabilization, thoughtful finish.
Helpful side notes for tool shoppers
- If you prefer accessories that simplify handling on woven towels, some makers explore options beyond traditional hoops. For general research purposes only, you may see terms like magnetic embroidery hoop when browsing retailers. Always test accessories on scraps before committing to a full towel project.
- New to machine embroidery and wondering if this project is approachable? Yes—this workflow is beginner-friendly. If you’re just getting started, look for tutorials geared toward an embroidery machine for beginners and practice with simple designs to build confidence before stitching on your final towel.
- Many sewists use a standard hoop included with their embroidery sewing machine. The key to success here is hooped sticky tear-away stabilizer plus careful template placement. If you are considering alternative accessories, do your homework and confirm compatibility.
- When comparing accessories across brands, you might encounter broad shopping terms such as magnetic hoops for embroidery or embroidery magnetic hoop. These can be useful for exploration, but they’re not required for the technique demonstrated in the video.
- If you’re building a toolkit, remember the unsung heroes: template sheets, tear-away tape, and a good press cloth. These support pieces make a disproportionate difference in alignment, stitch quality, and the final polish—often more than swapping out machine embroidery hoops or other hardware.
- Finally, as your projects grow, you may look into broader accessory categories like magnetic embroidery frames for different fabrics or placements. For tea towels specifically, the sticky tear-away approach shown is simple, reliable, and repeatable.
Happy stitching! With these steps, your next tea towel will look as crisp on day one as it does after washing—just like in the OESD demo.