Thinkwedding's

How to Make a Towel Wedding Cake

by

Marilyn Woodman

www.thinkwedding.com

 

 

 

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    Wedding cakes made of towels are popular and inexpensive gifts for both bridal and wedding showers, and offer a wide variety of options for those of you who are creative.

 

    Towel wedding cakes are not hard to do and don't take a long time to make, but to be successful, you need to be careful in folding the towels during the assembly process.

 

     You might also be interested in making a diaper cake--now or in the future.  For that information, please see our sister site at www.wrappersandmore.com.

 

Materials you will need:

 

2 white regular size bath towels

3 white hand towels

3 white wash cloths

Large Safety pins

Long straight pins; pins with decorative heads are nice to add.

Ribbon - Satin or Organza.  Organza is easier to handle and can be hot glued.

Options:  Real or silk flowers; small gifts, small appliqués.

1 can chloroform for children, husband and pets (OK, just kidding--lighten up!)

 

Let's Begin!

 

Please click on each picture for a larger image

When you fold your towels, please keep the proportions of your "cake" in mind.  Length and width should be "roughly" the same--that is, if the base measures 10", the height should be 10" to 12" tall.

 

You can enhance the stability of your "cake" by buying cardboard rounds in the cake section of your local crafts store.

 

If you click on each picture, you can see a larger picture of the same thing

Step 1

 

Wedding Towel Cake - View 1  Wedding Towel Cake - View 2

Start with the two bath towels.

Lay out one towel lengthwise, and fold the towel into thirds along its length.  Make sure the folds are even throughout the length of the towel.  Make sure the ends are even as well.

Step 2

 

Wedding Towel Cake - View 3  Wedding Towel Cake - View 4

Fold the towel that is now in thirds in half, again along its length, right over the previous folds.  Make sure that the ends are even throughout the length of the towel; the neater the folds, the better your wedding cake will look.

Step 3

 

Wedding Towel Cake - View 5

Repeat the same folds with the second bath towel.  If you have folded carefully, the ends should be the same.  Pin one end of each of the folded bath towels together with two safety pins.  Your two towels should now be end to end.

Step 4

 

Wedding Towel Cake - View 6

Joining edges of the bath towels

Starting at one end, carefully roll the towels in one long roll as shown on the left.  Try to roll as tightly as possible.

Step 5

 

Wedding Towel Cake - View 7 Wedding Towel Cake - View 8

Top of the rolled bath towel

Notice that the top of your finished roll has a right and a wrong side.  The edges of the towel show on the wrong side; the edges don't show on the right side.  Place the finished roll so that the right side is up as shown in the left picture.  Make sure that the top of the roll is relatively flat.  If it is not flat, the next layer won't lay nicely on the top, and you have not taken enough care in folding and rolling your towel.

Step 6 Wedding Towel Cake - View 9

Rolled bath towel

To fasten, either tie a satin or organza ribbon closely around the roll, or use regular or decorative straight pins to fasten the ends.  If you are using straight pins, make sure to use at least three long pins, and put them firmly in place.

Step 7 Wedding Towel Cake - View 10

Unrolled hand towel--

fold differently than bath towel

Repeat with the hand towels and the washcloths, except use three hand towels, and only fold to between 1/2 way and 3/4 to the opposite edge as shown.  You are roughly trying to match the height of your base--the bath towels.

 

Place the roll of hand towels on top of the roll with the bath towels, again remembering that there is a right side and a wrong side, and place the roll with the washcloths at the very top.  You're almost done!

Step 8 Wedding Towel Cake - View 11

Finished towel wedding cake!

Here comes the fun part!  Take your ribbon and wrap all three layers to keep them together.  Tie a decorative bow at the top.  You can also use straight pins to fasten appliqués, other bows, and even "tuck" things in the top and sides of your "cake."  Kitchen utensils and small baby items for baby showers fit beautifully!

 

The ribbons featured in the pictures are organza, which we prefer, because we feel it's easier to handle than satin.  Thinkwedding sells a wide range of widths and colors of organza ribbons, as well as Organza/Organdy Circles and Organza Fabric Rolls, can be used to wrap around the rolled towels to finish off your cake.  Even if you're all thumbs like us, a little ribbon and fabric helps to create wonderful effects!   Decorations can be both pinned and tucked into the folds of your finished towel cake!

 

We would very much appreciate any other pictures of finished cakes made as a result of these instructions.  Please send them to photos@thinkwedding.com, and we'll be sure to give you credit and our thanks!

 

please click on each picture to see a larger picture

 

Gail and Larry Wapiennik made this wedding towel cake for their future daughter-in-law's bridal shower to decorate the gift table. They then gave it away as a door prize. It was their first attempt at making this. and they were very happy with the results
Diane Fingerhut says her first "cake" was a real hit at the wedding shower. She says that it is a "fun easy project which looks great.  Anyone can make this and it is a no fail project.
Thank you"
 
This cake was made by Barbara Grofe for her grandson's and future Granddaughter's Bridal Shower.
She used 4 bath towels, 4 hand towels and 6 washcloths because they were on sale!  The beading was hand-strung on wire.  It is her first, but she would consider doing others as a small side business.
Ellen Gibson made this one for her stepdaughter, who wanted "green" presents!  The top layer is held together with a garter and topped with her cake topper. Since the father of the bride is from Scotland, the man is wearing a kilt!
 
 

 

Lisa Angelo made her first towel cake for a childhood friend's bridal shower. The bride-to-be loved it and decided to use it as a centerpiece for the gift table at the wedding! This is one of three towel cakes with three different colors of towels Wendy Kryson made for her daughter's wedding shower whose theme is sunflowers. This is Linda Kusko's first cake and she just loved it, especiallly since she actually got her husband to help! The cake is for her son, who is getting married.

 

Belinda Ayson crreated this cake her sister-in-law to be's bridal shower.  She used
3 bath towels, 4 hand towels, and 4 wash cloths.   The theme for the wedding is lavender, so the theme for the shower was lavender and orchids. 

 

Towel Cake by Becca Mutz Towel Cake by Nikki Watkins

This is the first of many towel cakes created by Becca Mutz.  It was created for a co-worker's wedding shower, and she has now found a whole new business!  You can contact her at Becca@mypowerteam.com

 

Denise Cassell's mother already made embroidered towels in the UK, but her colleague wanted to give an unusual present, so she created this towel cake!  Well done, Dee!

 

Laura Boucher's first towel cake was made for her niece's Bridal Shower. It was made using 4 Bath Towels--two for the bottom, one for the middle, rolling each end of the towel to the center so that it would not be the same size as the top layer, and it created a pocket for thank you notes! Nikki Watkins says she had an easy and fun time making this towel cake for her cousin's wedding!

 


 

 

 

Towel Cake by Lynda Long Towel Cake by Lisa DeNova Towel Cake by Mary McDonald Towel Cake by Becky Cooper
This pink lily towel cake by Lynda Long was created for a friend at work, and has since triggered a number of requests for at least two others!

 

Lisa DeNova's first towel cake was made for her cousin.  She had seen one the year before and wanted to try it, and found out site.  She is a "crafty" person, but feels that anyone could follow the instructions! Mary McDonald's first towel cake was made for a co-worker.  She feels that she'll become proficient with practice, but I would say that she's done a fine job the first time!

 

Becky Cooper's first towel cake was designed for a fall wedding, and only took her an hour to make!  She even elected to forgo the chloroform!

 

 

 

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