Sweeten up your kitchen with these appetizing in-the-hoop towel toppers.

An elastic band holds a towel snugly in place. You can also add a loop or handy snap-on strap so you can hang these sweet treats wherever you please.

Read below for these free project instructions.

When you download an in-the-hoop towel topper design you will see three files. One starts with an "X" followed by 4 numbers - this is the embroidery file. The other files are marked with "_DL" and that stands for dieline. The front piece (or pieces - some in-the-hoop towel toppers have more than one front piece) are labeled "_DLFront" and the back piece as "_DLBack". Print the dieline files at full size using embroidery software.

If you don't have embroidery software, keep reading! Alternative instructions will be shown shortly.
 

If you do not have embroidery software, you can sew the dielines directly onto the fabric. Cut a piece of cutaway stabilizer and fabric a bit larger than your hoop. Spray the stabilizer with adhesive and smooth the fabric on top. Then, hoop the fabric and stabilizer together.

Attach the hoop to the machine and load one of the dieline files. Embroider the dieline directly onto the fabric.

Once that has finished, cut out the shape. 

A third option for cutting the fabric pieces is to sew the dielines directly onto paper. To do this, hoop a piece of paper, embroider the dieline directly onto the paper, and cut out the shapes as described earlier.

Now that the fabric pieces are cut and ready, it is time to embroider the towel topper!

Hoop a piece of tear-away stabilizer.

Attach the hoop to the machine and load the embroidery file (the file that is named with an "X" followed by 4 numbers). Embroider the design - the first thing that sews is another dieline. After the dieline has sewn, stop the machine.

Spray the backside of the corresponding front fabric piece with adhesive.

Lay the fabric directly inside the shape.

Continue with the design. A tack down stitch will sew next. This binds the fabric piece to the stabilizer for the remainder of the design.

Continue with the embroidery - other elements of the design will sew.

If your design has more than one front fabric piece, stop the design after the next dieline sews.

Add the second fabric piece and resume the design.

Another tack down will sew and then the other elements of the design.

Look for a note on the color change sheet that says "back piece tack down." When you reach this step, stop the machine. Remove the hoop from the machine but do not remove the stabilizer from the hoop.

You can add a loop or a snap strap to the top of the towel topper. To add a loop, cut a 7 inch long strip of 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide ribbon. Bring the ends of the ribbon together to form a loop and tape the raw ends of the loop to the top of the backside of the back fabric piece. [Carol wrote in with a different idea, to prevent having tape between layers of fabric she used spray adhesive to adhere the ribbon to the back of the stitched item.]
 

To add the towel strap, turn the back fabric piece over so the right side is facing up. Cut a strip of elastic a bit wider than the center of the fabric. Spray the ends of the elastic with adhesive and press it in place in the center of the back piece fabric.

Trim the ends of the elastic so that it's flush with the edges of the fabric.

Tape the center of the elastic in place with a small piece of masking tape. This will help the elastic stay in place during the remainder of the design.

Spray the backside of the back piece fabric with adhesive.

Add the fabric to the backside of the embroidery directly inside the shape. Tape the loop to the backside of the stabilizer to keep it out of the way.

If you would like to add a snap strap instead of a loop, cut a piece of cotton or nylon strap 8 inches long and tape one end to the backside of the back fabric piece. Then, add the back fabric piece to the backside of the embroidery as described in previous steps.

Because both sides of the embroidery will be visible, we are winding a bobbin in the same color as the top thread for the remaining steps.

Attach the hoop to the machine and continue with the design. A tack down stitch will sew next - this binds the front and back fabric together.

A satin stitch border will sew to complete the design.

Unhoop the stabilizer, remove the tape from the loop or strap, and gently tear away the stabilizer.

If you chose a strap for your towel topper, add a few drops of fabric glue or Fray Check to the raw end of the strap to prevent it from fraying.

Add the inner side of the snap by using a snap tool - add it to the front side of the strap just above the top edge of the towel topper.

Now, add the button part of the snap on the backside of the opposite end of the strap about 1/2 inch from the end.

Your towel topper is complete!

To add the towel, insert a corner of the towel through the elastic strap on the back (starting at the bottom of the topper) and pull the towel through.

Towel topper designs also have a dual purpose! You can easily make a coordinating refrigerator magnet - simply leave off the top loop and the back elastic strap, add magnetic tape or hot glue button magnets to the backside of the embroidery and you have yourself and refrigerator magnet! To see more about making refrigerator magnets click here.