I broke needle after needle trying to sew through the gathered up towel but I really liked this little dress so I wasn't about to let it defeat me. I hope that someone else can use the idea.

It is a good thing that I didn't have time to look at the whole site or I would have spent much more than I did. LOL.

Thanks Gail, I think I will go back and try another style using this method. It also gives the towel a little more length this way.

bargainembstore

You are most welcome. I hope this works for others too that want to make this design but just cant get the towel into the allotted area. The designs in this set are so cute but not practical for those of us limited to a 5x7 hoop.

I'm not Ms. Queen of Hearts, but I will tell you what I did to add fabric. I cut a piece of fabric to fit the width of towel, plus a bit to turn under. I turned under one long edge about 3/8th and pressed. The other edge I sewed to the cut edge of the towel. I used a big 1/4th seam . Folded my fabric over the towel and made sure the long edges matched and sewed it down. Then found the middle of the towel (fabric) and started pleating. The instructions aren't real clear at this point. Note where the bottom of the embroidery design flares out, where it becomes a bow. The towel must be laid into this area. I had to turn the edges of the towel (fabric) under 1/4 inch towards the back. I set my machine real slow and had to make sure the foot didn't get caught in the gathers. I held it down with my hands and some masking tape. Keeping my hands out of the way but holding the pleats down. It worked real well and guess what I'm making for Christmas presents? I have 27 of them cut out. In the future, for this design I would use looser (is that a word) woven towels. For my heavier towels I have started making the fabric 4 1/2 to 5 inches wide. Hope this helps Meccajazz.