How to Embroidery on Flour Sack Dish Towels? - Best Tips and Practices

Flour sack towels are one of the most versatile kitchen linens available. They are absorbent, so they can be used to dry dishes or to dry your hands. They are lint-free, so they can be used to cover bread dough as it rises or to cover other baked goods as they cool.

They are also one of the best blanks for embroidery — the tight, smooth 100% cotton weave holds stitches cleanly, takes iron-on and heat transfer designs accurately, and washes reliably without distorting the finished work. This guide covers everything you need to get started: hand and machine methods, how to transfer your design, which stabilizer to use, and which patterns work best on lightweight cotton.

When you use a basket for serving at the table or as a container for a gift basket of baked goods, flour sack tea towels make ideal basket liners. When presented as a gift basket, both the basket and the flour sack tea towel liner become additional gifts that the recipient can keep.

Because flour sack tea towels are made from soft, 100% cotton, they can be machine washed and dried. Since they can be so readily laundered, they can even be used as cloth napkins on the table.

Flour sack tea towels become more decorative when enhanced with embroidery, and the choice of the embroidered design can make a gift that includes flour sack tea towels more special and meaningful.

Decorative Flour Sack Tea Towels

If you are going to have a flour sack tea towel hanging in your kitchen, why have a plain one when adding a design turns it from a utilitarian item into a decorative one that enhances your kitchen decor.

When you are going to use a flour sack tea towel as a basket liner for bread, rolls, or baked goods — for your table or as a gift — adding a decorative design enhances your presentation. The embroidery design you choose can add to the theme of a party or recreate a shared memory for a special occasion.

A monogrammed design on flour sack tea towels used as napkins can set a more formal tone, while a decorative design can encourage a casual, festive, or romantic mood. Hand or machine embroidery is a quick, easy way to add a design. Vintage, redwork, toile, and light and airy designs are recommended for the lightweight cotton fabric.

Our flour sack towels are economical enough that you can create decorative tea towels for as many different uses and occasions as you can imagine — and wholesale bulk pricing is available with no minimum order for embroidery studios and decorators buying in quantity.

How to Embroider Flour Sack Tea Towels by Hand

Materials Needed

Hand Embroidery Instructions

1. Wash, dry, and press the tea towels.
2. If you are using an iron-on transfer, pin it face down on the tea towel.
3. Press the iron-on transfer with a hot iron with no steam to transfer the design.
4. Place the tea towel in the embroidery hoop and stitch.
5. Machine wash and dry the towel on a gentle cycle, and press on the wrong side to help the design stand out.

How to Transfer a Non-Iron-on Transfer Design

If your design is not an iron-on transfer, you can transfer it by one of the following methods.

Heat Transfer Pens

To use a heat transfer pen with a symmetrical design or one you have printed with right and left sides reversed:

1. Use the heat transfer pen to draw over the lines of the design with the front or right side of the design facing you.
2. Pin the design face down on the tea towel.
3. Use an iron to transfer the design.

To use a heat transfer pen when your design is not symmetrical or reversed:

1. Turn your design over.
2. Use the heat transfer pen to draw over the lines of the design with the back or wrong side facing you.
3. Pin the design on the tea towel with the back of the design down.
4. Use an iron to transfer the design.

Water Soluble Pens

1. Tape the design to a window with a strong light.
2. Tape the tea towel over it.
3. Use a water soluble pen to trace the design onto the towel.

Carbon Transfer Paper

1. Place carbon transfer paper on top of the towel with the colored side down.
2. Place the design face up on top of the carbon paper.
3. Use straight pins to pin the design and the carbon paper to the towel.
4. Use a ballpoint pen to trace over the design several times to ensure the design transfers to the towel.

Hand Embroidery Stitching Tips

If your design does not have specific instructions, here are some tips.

How to Machine Embroider Flour Sack Kitchen Towels

Materials Needed

Machine Embroidery Instructions

1. Wash, dry, and press the tea towels.
2. Select a design from your embroidery machine software.
3. Print two copies of the design — one to use as a template and one as a copy of the thread list.
4. Cut a piece of stabilizer for the back of the towel that is larger than your hoop.
5. Use temporary spray adhesive to attach the stabilizer to the back of the towel.
6. On the template, mark the center and the horizontal and vertical axis lines on the top, bottom, and sides.
7. Place the template on the towel and align the axis lines with the marks on the hoop.
8. Secure the template and the tea towel together with the hoop. Make sure the hoop holds the towel taut without stretching it.
9. Load the design into your embroidery machine and thread with the first color.
10. Attach the hoop to the machine. Using a size 11 or 75/11 embroidery needle, position the needle in the center of the design and embroider.
11. When the machine indicates, change to the next thread color.
12. When done, trim away the excess stabilizer leaving about ½" around the design.
13. Machine wash and dry the towel on a gentle cycle, and press on the wrong side to help the design stand out.

What Stabilizer Should I Use for Embroidery on Flour Sack Dish Towels?

A medium-weight cutaway stabilizer (2.5–3 oz) is the best choice for flour sack tea towels. Cutaway stabilizer stays permanently attached behind the design, providing lasting support that prevents distortion through washing. It makes it easier to line up your design and causes less puckering than tearaway stabilizer on lightweight cotton.

Sulky's stabilizer guide covers the differences between cutaway, tearaway, and washaway options in detail — useful if you're building out your machine embroidery supply kit.

Vintage Tea Towel Embroidery Patterns

Because of the weight of the fabric, light and airy embroidery designs are best suited for flour sack tea towels whether you are doing hand or machine embroidery. Vintage, redwork, and toile designs are popular styles for these embroidered tea towels.

Here are some books featuring hand embroidery patterns well suited to tea towels:

If you are interested in patterns for your embroidery machine, the books above should give you ideas for designs compatible with your machine software. DMC's embroidery learning centre also has free stitch guides and pattern resources worth bookmarking.

What are the Best Flour Sack Towels for Embroidery?

Mary's Kitchen Flour Sack Tea Towels are high quality, thick, durable, and long lasting — designed with DIY projects in mind. The tight 100% cotton weave holds stitches cleanly, takes iron-on transfers well, and washes reliably without distorting the embroidered design.

Just like handiwork from the past, embroidered flour sack tea towels become keepsakes — napkins, basket liners, and gifts that last for years. We carry a dedicated embroidery collection with the sizes and styles most popular with embroidery studios and home crafters, and wholesale bulk pricing is available with no minimum order.

Conclusion

Mary's Kitchen Flour Sack Tea Towels are absorbent, lint-free, and made from 100% soft cotton. They have a variety of uses in the kitchen and at the table — drying dishes or hands, lining baskets of bread or baked goods, and serving as napkins. These uses are enhanced by hand or machine embroidered designs chosen to complement your decor, the season, or the occasion.

Keep a supply of flour sack tea towels on hand and you can quickly create an embroidered tea towel for your own home or as a gift for any occasion. Browse our full range at floursacktowels.com.

Frequently Asked Questions