First project: an embroidered tea towel or tote
A small design with few colours on a stable woven item.
Step by step
- Pick a simple, small design with few colours.
- Wash and iron the item first so it won't shrink later.
- Hoop it with tear-away stabiliser underneath.
- Load the file and check position and orientation on the screen.
- Thread the first colour, fit a full bobbin and start. Stay with the machine: it stops at each colour change.
- Trim jump threads, tear away stabiliser and press from the back on a towel.
Watch
Embroidering on Tea Towels (2:28)
By Embroidery Library · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 2-minute video from Embroidery Library on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
All guides ›Machine embroidery
Sources
All checked November 1, 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.