I do not wash towels first as they never look quite the same and I have never had any problems. I hoop medium tearaway. Spray the hooped tearaway with adhesive and smooth the towel on to the tearaway. I then pin a water soluble plastic over the top in each corner to hold the plastic in place. It you have never done this before I would try out the design on a cheap facecloth to see how it looks.
hello i hoop only heavy tearaway and i pin my towel around the frame .Then i put thin wws on top of my towel so the piture or words don't sink or get lost on/in the towel pretty easy right lol hugs Carolyn
You don't have to wash the towel first. I've done it both ways but not with an applique. If you want to make sure it won't shrink later then get it wet with a rinse and spin cycle and dry it in the dryer. You wouldn't have to do a full wash. The heat is what shrinks it.
I have also done a basting frame with the tear away stabilizer on bottom, then towel, then WSS on top. That would be instead of pinning.