Machine Embroidery for the Summer

I recently met a friend who is not from the South and the concept of monogramming everything you own was completely foreign to her. As a G.R.I.T.S. (Girl Raised In The South), I explained the importance and beauty of having everything monogrammed. And yes, I do mean everything.

The wonderful thing about monograms is they are an easy and elegant way to personalize a gift for someone. I decided to make a summer care package, including a monogrammed bag, towel, and beach hat, for my friend using several of the tutorials on this blog!

Supplies

Good quality beach towel
Matching waterproof beach tote
Wide brim straw hat
Sulky Sticky Plus™ Stabilizer
Sulky Solvy® Stabilizer
Sulky Soft ‘n Sheer™ Stabilizer
Sulky Stitch ‘n Seal™ Stabilizer
Sulky KK 2000™ Temporary Spray Adhesive
Sulky 40 Wt. Poly Deco™ in Christmas Red #1147
Sulky 40 Wt. Rayon – in Bright Peacock #1252 and Black #1005
Sulky 60 Wt. Polylite™ in Black #1005
Topstitch needle size 90

The Monogrammed Beach Towel

It’s easy-peasy to perfectly monogram a towel. Here are my quick and easy steps:

1. Hoop Sulky Sticky + Stabilizer with the release sheet facing up (that’s the paper side with the grid and the words Sulky Sticky + on it). Use a pin to score the release sheet and tear it off revealing the ‘sticky’ part of Sticky +.
2. Stick the towel to the Sticky +.
3. Use Sulky KK 2000 Temporary Spray Adhesive to adhere a piece of Solvy Stabilizer to the front of the towel.
4. I used Sulky 40 Wt. Poly Deco in the top and in the bobbin for this project since beach towels are in the sun and get washed a lot.

The Monogrammed Waterproof Beach Tote

The hardest part of this project was figuring out exactly where I wanted the monogram. I chose to center it on the right side pocket. Here are my steps:

1. Measure the pocket, then turn the tote inside out and mark the center with a pencil on the inside of the tote.
2. Hoop Sulky Sticky + Stabilizer with the release sheet facing up (that’s the paper side with the grid and the words Sulky Sticky + on it). Use a pin to score the release sheet and tear it off revealing the ‘sticky’ part of Sticky +.
3. Place the mark you made in the center of the hoop and stick it down.
4. Move the tote bag so the space that will be embroidered is clear. Use clips if you need to, but NO PINS! It will leave a permanent hole and the bag won’t be waterproof anymore.
5. I used Sulky 40 Wt. Rayon on the top and Sulky 40 Wt. Poly Deco in the bobbin (because I already had it in the machine from the towel and I am lazy).
6. I did use a Topstitch Needle size 90 for this and it stitched out perfectly.
7. Now that this tote has been embroidered, it has holes from where the needle went through the bag. That means it’s no longer waterproof! I rectified that by putting Sulky Stitch ‘N Seal Stabilizer on the back to seal up those holes and re-waterproof the bag.

The Monogrammed Wide-Brim Straw Hat

I did this exactly like this tutorial. My only change is instead of using blue tape to secure the hat, I used a scrap piece of Sticky + to secure the hat. I used Sulky 40 Wt. Rayon on top and Sulky 60 Wt. PolyLite in the bobbin (PolyLite is my go to bobbin thread because it works with all the threads I use).

Bonus Cover-Up

If you are looking for something to complete this set, try making this Beach Cover up! The free pattern is here.