Thinkwedding's

How to Make a Towel Wedding Cake

by

Marilyn Woodman

www.thinkwedding.com

 

 

 

Thinkwedding.com provides these articles as a public service.  We created our website to assist the savvy bride, and we feature custom wine and water bottle labels, candy wrapper, Save the Date magnets, keepsake Marriage Certificates, white umbrellas, print your own wedding stationery templates and blank wedding stationery, books on weddings, ebooks that can be downloaded immediately, wedding favors, as well as wedding articles and information on obtaining your own birth certificate. Please take a moment to take a look at some of our pages--you might find them useful, too!


 

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 use.

Ribbon - Satin or Organza. 

     Organza is easier to handle and hot glue.  Well sell a wide variety of colors and sizes

     of organza and satin ribbon here--but you can also purchase ribbon in craft and fabric stores.

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

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 (quilting or pearl-headed hat pins are nice), 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!

 

 

See what our readers have made!

 

The towel cakes below were made as a result of our instructions.

We hope that they will be an inspiration for you!

 

please click on each picture to see a larger picture

 

This was Katherine Timpone's first towel cake, made for her daughter, Sherri's, bridal shower.  It was quite a hit with everyone there!

 

Diana McCormack created this towel cake for her good friend is less than 1/2 a day.  She used a woodland theme to reflect her friend's wedding invitations.  You did great, Diane!

 

A first towel cake made by Marianne Anastasio for her neice's bridal shower featured a beach theme, and she used her niece's wedding party colors.  Well done, Marianne!

 

Rebecca and Vera Wilson thought that towel cakes were an amazing idea, and created their first cake as a gift for a shower they attended

 

 

 

 

This is a towel cake created by Elisa Howard of Cleveland, TN for her granddaughter's bridal shower.  This is her second cake, and she incorporated the wedding's colors of black and white with yellow daisies.  Very creative, Elisa!

 

Evelyn used one hand towel on the top instead of three wash cloths; she found that the sizes were comparable.

 

 

Two loufas and a bath brush were used to decorate Becky Walker's creation for her sister!

 

This was a first attempt by

Mark Kent; he used another made by Laura Dudley (whose cake was also featured here) as an inspiration, and added pillars to the design.  The bride was thrilled!  Good work, Mark!

 

 

 

   
Shirley Tetreault did this towel cake for a shower, and wrote that she was grateful for the instructions.  Just love the colors! Rebekah DeHart did her first towel cake for a friend's bridal shower.  She used cream towels, cream flowers, and brown ribbon and added some cooking tools, using a grilling tray as a base.  Good work, Rebekah!

 

Here are two towel cakes made by Darnell Collums of Smithville, MS, for two different showers, and they were a definite hit at both!  On the black and white "cake" on the right, she used the bride's Save the Date card as a topper; on the one on the left she used brown towels that make the guests think she was bringing dessert because it looked so much like chocolate!  Thanks for sharing your great ideas, Darnell!

 

 

 

Return to the Articles Directory

Tell a friend about this page:

© 2003, by M. A. Woodman

http://www.thinkwedding.com

 

 

  Want to add this article to your website?  Please write to webmaster@thinkwedding.com for written permission.

We will be happy to let you add this article to your site at no charges, provided the following conditions are met.

  • The article may not be edited in any way without express permission.

  • Full credit to the author and website must be given and all links must be retained.

  • The website is related to brides, bridal couples and weddings.

  • No pornography, smut, questionable practices or illicit activities are practiced on the website.

 

 

Home

 

White Umbrellas & Parasols

 

Personalized Labels & Wrappers

 

Wine & Champaign

Water Bottle Labels

Save the Date Magnets

Candy Bar Wrappers

Mini Candy Wrappers

Candy Roll Wrappers

 

Keepsake Marriage Certificates

 

Party Favor Pouches & Ribbon

 

Printable Wedding Invitations

 

Printable Wedding Stationery

Printable Wedding Programs

Wedding Stationery Templates

 

Candles

 

Personalized Memorial Candles

Personalized Tapers

Personalized Unity Candles

 

Engraved Wedding Party Gifts

 

 

Articles

 

Making a Towel Cake

Articles about Weddings

About Wedding Programs

Wedding Traditions

Printing Your Own Invitations

State Birth Certificate Requirements

State Marriage License Requirements

Wedding Party Responsibilities

Wedding Stationery Etiquette

Wedding Financial Responsibilities

The Bride's To Do Checklist

The Groom's To Do Checklist

 

Wedding Links

 

Contact Us

Home    •   White Wedding Umbrellas    •    Personalized Labels, Wrappers & Magnets  •   Keepsake Marriage Certificates

Engraved Wedding Party Gifts  •   Favor Pouches, Ribbons, etc.  •  Printable Wedding Stationery    •    Wedding Stationery Templates

          Personalized Memorial Candles, Unity Candles & Tapers   •    Wedding Articles

About Printing Your Own Invitations    •    Wedding Invitation Frequently Asked Questions   •   The Bride's To Do List - Bride

The Groom's To Do List    •    Wedding Financial Responsibilities   •   Wedding Party Responsibilities    •    Wedding Traditions

State Birth Certificate Requirements   •   Marriage License Requirements    •    Related Wedding Links    •    Contact Us

© 2003, by M. A. Woodman
http://www.thinkwedding.com
All rights reserved