Embroidered Towel Wrap

Stay squeaky-clean and dry with this after-bath-and-shower towel wrap.

A thick and thirsty bath towel serves as the "wrap", and a coordinating hand towel makes straps and a pocket.

Jacobean-style flowers are a beautiful addition to this practical, comfortable, modern-day "dressing gown."

Supplies & Materials:

Project Materials or Supplies
- 1 bath towel

- 1 coordinating hand towel

- 10" of 1" wide soft elastic

- 6" of 3/4" wide Velcro

- 7" hem tape for pocket trim

The designs used in this tutorial include:

- A8157, Jacobean Floral Spray

- A8163, Jacobean Flower

Gather Materials:

First, mark the towel for strap placement. Center the towel behind you, wrap the left side to the front, and then the right side over the left.

Person wearing purple top holds a yellow towel wrap, showing front with velcro and back without embroidery against plain beige wall.

Make a mark to indicate the center of where each strap will go, and label each mark as "front."

Masking tape works well to mark these spots, or you can use a dry-erase pen, too.

Person wearing a yellow towel wrap secured with clothespins at the top edges, against a plain light gray background. The person is wearing a dark purple shirt underneath.

Using the front strap marks as your guide, transfer the strap marks to the back third of the towel. Label both marks as "back."

Close-up of a pale yellow towel with visible stains and worn spots, held at the corner by a hand with a silver ring, on a wooden surface.

Next, mark the placement of the embroidery. Print a template of the design and center it between the two front strap marks.

Poke a hole in the center of the template to make a mark on the fabric. For this, a dry-erase pen works well. The marks from the pen come out after laundering, or with a dab of water.

Hand tracing a floral embroidery pattern on a yellow towel using a blue Ultrafine fabric pencil, with the pattern paper taped in place on a wooden surface.

Measure from the top of the towel to the center point.

Hand with ring holding a wooden ruler aligned on a light yellow towel. Two small pieces of tape with letters 'F' and 'E' are attached on the towel edges. The background is a wooden surface.

Lay the top hoop over the area that will be embroidered, and align the straight edge of the top with the straight edge of the towel. Mark the left and right center points.

Hoop the towel with one piece of cutaway stabilizer, and a topping. Align the left and right marks on the towel with the markings on the hoop for perfect placement.

A hand holds a blue-tipped pen, tracing around an embroidery hoop placed on a yellow towel on a wooden surface with a ruler nearby.

Start Embroidering:

After you have finished embroidering the design, gently tear the topping away.

Hand holding a pale yellow towel with a clear plastic cover. Towel features embroidered pink flower with green leaves and small pink buds. Wood surface background.

Trim the cutaway stabilizer away from the backside of the towel.

Hand cutting paper stabilizer around floral embroidery with pink flowers, green leaves on white fabric, placed on beige towel on wooden surface.

Next, make shoulder straps from the hand towel.

Hand holding a blue and white fabric marker drawing a dot on the corner of a cream-colored towel. A clear ruler is placed under the towel on a dark wood surface.

Measure and mark a 24" long by 2 1/2" wide strip. From this towel you should get two shoulder straps and enough left over for a pocket, so plan accordingly.

Close-up of a hand holding a blue pen and a clear plastic ruler, marking small lines on a folded yellow towel placed on a dark wooden surface.

Cut one strip from the left side of the towel, and one strip from the right side of the towel. Trim any bottom ribbing, but leave the side ribbing.

Hand cutting a yellow terry cloth towel along a dotted purple guideline with orange-handled scissors on a wooden surface.

Next, prepare the fabric for the pocket from the hand towel. To make a 5" pocket with room for trim on top, measure and mark a 6" x 7" rectangle on a sheet of paper.

Hand traces a ruler on white paper next to black and white floral embroidery design printout on a wooden surface.

Cut the rectangle.

Hand cutting a piece of white paper along a faint pencil line on a dark wooden surface, using scissors with orange handles.

Lay the rectangle on the remaining towel piece, and trace the shape.

Hand holding blue marker, tracing a white rectangular paper template placed on a folded yellow towel on a brown wooden surface.

Place the design template in the rectangle. It should be centered horizontally. To allow trim for the pocket, place the template so that its center is one inch below the rectangle's center.

Mark the horizontal and vertical center points on the towel for perfect placement when hooping.

Hand tracing a floral embroidery design on yellow towel using a purple marker and a clear ruler to outline a square around the design.

Hoop the fabric with one piece of cutaway stabilizer, and topping, aligning the orientation marks on the towel with the marks on the hoop.

Embroider the design.

Close-up of a sewing machine embroidering small colorful shapes on a folded yellow towel, hoop and stabilizer fabric visible under the needle.

After you have finished embroidering the design, tear away the excess topping.

Close-up of a hand peeling plastic from embroidered fabric on a pale yellow towel with a pink and green floral design in progress.

Trim the stabilizer from the backside.

Hand cutting paper stabilizer inside an embroidery hoop placed on a pale yellow towel, with orange scissors held in left hand on dark wood surface.

Cut the pocket from the towel.

Person cutting a pale yellow towel with orange scissors, featuring an embroidered pink and green floral design on a square section of fabric.

Measure, mark, and trim a half an inch from all four corners. This will make it easier to hem the pocket piece.

Yellow towel wrap with pink, green, and blue floral embroidery and small red flower detail on a wooden surface.

Cut a length of decorative trim, enough to cover the entire top of the pocket with an inch excess on each side.

Hand cutting pink lace ribbon with orange scissors next to a small cream-colored fabric piece embroidered with a pink and green floral design on a wood surface.

Fold the top of the pocket, at the notches, to the back, and pin and trim the fold in place.

Hand holds folded yellow towel corner with pink floral fabric and lace sewn on edge, pinned with yellow-headed sewing pin on dark wood surface.

Sew a straight stitch on each edge of the trim. This will sew the trim to the pocket and finish the top edge at the same time.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a floral embroidery design with green and red petals on a yellow towel fabric, with pink threads and pins visible.

Next, make the straps. Fold in the cut edge about 1/2", and fold the ribbed edge over the cut edge. Pin in place. Continue folding and pinning the entire length for both straps.

Hand holding a white terry cloth towel wrap with a small pin securing one end, on a wood grain surface background.

Sew a straight stitch all along the length of the strap, following the ribbing.

Close-up of a white sewing machine stitching a strip of cream-colored textured fabric or towel with visible yellow thread accents against a black background.

Attach the straps to the towel. Pin one end of a strap to the inside of the left front mark. Allow 2" of overlap for each end of the straps.

White towel wrap with embroidered design of a pink flower surrounded by green swirls and small pink dots, laid on a wooden surface.

Pin the other end of that strap to the inside of the left back mark.

Hand holding a cream-colored towel wrap with fuzzy texture, showing stitched edges and a loop sewn into one side, on a dark wood surface.

Transfer the right front mark to the middle layer. Pin one end of the second strap to the inside of this new mark, and pin the other end to the inside of the corresponding back mark.

Hand holding a blue pen near a cream-colored towel wrap with an embroidered pink flower and green leaves, against a dark wood background.

Remove the masking tape marks and sew the straps to the towel.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching on a pale yellow towel with visible embroidery in the upper left corner featuring pink and green thread.

Attach the pocket to the towel. Measure and mark 11 inches above the bottom edge, and 14 inches from the left side. This will be the top center of the pocket.

Pin the pocket in place, keeping the pins to the inside so the seam allowances can be easily folded under.

Yellow towel with a small embroidered pocket featuring a pink flower and green leaves, measured by a clear ruler placed diagonally across it.

Fold 1/2" of one side under, and sew a straight stitch from one end to the other. Back up one inch and fold under 1/2" of the bottom, and sew across the bottom. Continue this up the other side -- but be sure to keep the top open.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a floral embroidery design with red petals and green leaves on a soft, pale yellow fabric.

Attach a Velcro closure. Cut 6" sections of loop and hook strips.

Hand holding orange scissors cutting ruler placed on folded yellow towel with floral embroidery on wooden surface.

Fold the towel in thirds, with the left side on top. Flip the upper corner of the left side over. Pin the loop section here.

Pin the hook strip into place on the middle section of the towel.

Two cream-colored towel wraps with embroidered floral designs in pink and green, each featuring a loop handle and white hook-and-loop fasteners, on a brown surface.

Sew both strips to the towel.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching cream-colored fabric with embroidered towel showing green leaves and pink flowers. A yellow pin is visible.

A strip of soft pajama elastic ensures a nice, snug fit. Lay 10" of the elastic on the inside back, directly under where the straps attach to the back of the towel.