Wedding and Engagement Gifts to Make with an Embroidery Machine
By Julie on March 20th, 2020 This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
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It’s almost summer. So you know that that means? Weddings, wedding showers and engagement parties. Each of these events requires you to bring a gift, which begs the question: should you order something off the registry, or use your embroidery machine to make some unique, personalized gifts. I’m sure you can probably guess what side of the argument I am on…. So, here are some of my favorite wedding and engagement gifts to make with an embroidery machine.
Monograming robes is an old standby for me – but a great idea for a wedding gift. I embroider two unisex style spa robes with the couples monograms and use a script font for the woman’s robe and a classic serif font for the man’s robe. Fancy soap or bath balls are great additions to this gift.
Some things to consider. I usually try on the robe myself for placement of the woman’s monogram and I put the man’s robe on my husband to help me place the monogram on the man’s robe.
Most of the robes that I have used are terry cloth, but the waffle style works great too. It is always important to lay of piece of water soluble topper on top of the robe prior to embroidering to prevent the towel fibers from popping through. Just dab or spray some water on top of the monogram to dissolve it after you are done.
Mr & Mrs pillow cases
A few years back I was shopping at an antique store in Kentucky, and I found a beautifully packaged set of pillowcases embroidered with “Mr.” and “Mrs.” I fell in love with them, and immediately bought them for me and my husband for the purpose of resolving pillow disputes.
A few years back, at the 11th hour I needed a Christmas gift for some friends of ours (a couple) who have seemed to enjoy the items I have monogrammed for them in the past. But, I had already made them monogrammed towels, personalized robes and a monogrammed throw. So, I was running low on ideas.
After rummaging around my sewing room, I found a pack of placemats I picked up in Chinatown in Vancouver on a visit a few years prior. (I have found that some of the little shops in Chinatown in various cities have great little linens that are perfect for embroidery – definitely worth checking out if you are in a city with a good Chinatown.) These orange, linen placemats are perfect for outdoor entertaining in the summer, but without any type of embroidery, a bit plain. Note: You can get your own linen placemats on Amazon.
I stitched out an embroidery file called Roman Wreath from Meringue Designs that comes in two sizes with all the letters of the alphabet, using the letter “O” which is the last name of the couple. And… the placemats turned out great.
Well, the personalized placemat production did not stop there. My mother-in-law saw the gift and then dropped some serious hints re: how she would like some. So, for her I personalized some red placemats with a single initial monogram of my design. And, it seems like she loves them. Or she just very strategically puts them out every time I visit. Who knows?
But – my point here is that monogrammed placemats make an awesome, inexpensive wedding or engagement gift. They can even be cheaper if yo make the placemats your self. And if you do – I would suggest stitching out the monogram before sewing the front and back together so that you have a nice, clean back of the placemat.
Monogrammed napkins
Well, the personalized placemats were such a hit with my mother-in-law that I decided to take it a step further and make her a set of monogrammed napkins that coordinated with the red placemats. Talk about minimal effort here. I used a standard “G” that was pre-loaded on my embroidery machine for my personalization and it still looked great.
There are many other fancier monogram styles that would look awesome on some napkins. I really like the Double Square Monogram by Rivermill Embroidery to add a bit more formality to the napkin. Consider coordinating your personalized napkins with some personalized placemats and you have one-hell-of-a perfect and generous wedding or engagement gift.
Monogrammed towels
Personalized towels make a great wedding or engagement gift. Picture provided by Whitney Danielle Martin of MadeByWhit and used with her permission.
Monogrammed towels are perhaps one of the most obvious and easiest gifts to monogram for an engagement or wedding gift. Luxe bath towel sets are inexpensive. And, there are so many ways to personalize them. You can’t go wrong monogramming the towels with a classic monogram design. Just don’t forget that the woman’s initial goes first, then the last name in the middle and the man’s name on the left.
Creating a gift for a same sex couple of a couple who will not share the same last name? Not a problem. There are tons of other creative ways to personalize some towels. You can do “his” and “hers” or “his” and “his” or “hers” and “hers” – whatever the situation dictates. You could even just add a first name the towel or stitched out the two last names. See the pictured example of towels embroidered with a single initial plus the Mr and Mrs hand towels.
Personalized throw pillows
Totally custom throw pillow for the bride and groom. Picture provided by Felicia Carroll Joy and used with her permission.
A personalized throw pillow is a lovely gift for a wedding or engagement. You can even make the pillow to coordinate with the couple’s decor. Never been to their house? See the colors and style of items they’ve registered for and make something to fit right in.
You’ll probably notice that in the example, above, the design is quite large. Therefore, if you don’t have a super large hoop size, you will have to stitch it out in separate pieces. There are tons of different scroll embroidery designs that will add the right amount of “fancy” to this project.
You can easily make a pillow sham to cover a pillow form, or you can order pillow covers and add your design on top. Personally, I think it’s a bit easier (and cheaper) to embroider on a flat piece of fabric, but if you are in a pinch – go for the pre-made pillow covers.
Embroidered Framed Art Celebrating the Couple
Personalized towels make a great wedding or engagement gift. Picture provided by Chelsea Marie of CDMakes and used with her permission. Design can be purchased from Designs by Windmill
A great gift for a couple is to embroider a personalized design that commemorates the day. Yes, I know it’s a bit risky, but there are so many versions of this project you can do, that I’m sure you can find a design that matches their style. Plus, when it has the couple’s name and wedding/engagement date on it, I’m sure that trumps whether it blends perfectly with the home decor style.
I absolutely love this darling, whimsical tree design. All it takes is adding a bit of text for the couple’s initials, their name and the wedding date. You can probably add the text details right on your machine or use a basic embroidery design editing program like Embrilliance Essentials or SewWhat-Pro to add these text elements to the design.
Personalized koozies
Ok – I know that a few koozies would look rather cheap as a wedding or an engagement gift. However, if you were to add these items in with some barware and some booze, then you would have a truly personalized and fun gift.
Koozies are super easy to personalize IF you buy the un-sewn variety. You can buy them in just about any color on Amazon. You simply sew up the outside edges after you add the monogram.
Kitchen towels, oven mitt, etc..
Photo and embroidery by Ashlee Pennington and used with her permission.
Most engaged couples have kitchen gear on their registry, but if you want to add a personal touch to go along with the dutch oven or a toaster you buy, think about adding a fully personalized set of kitchen towels and oven mitts. For only $12 plus some time with your embroidery machine, your gift will go from generic to totally custom. Believe, me, the couple won’t remember who gave them the dutch oven, but they will think of you every time they see those kitchen towels.
Framed embroidered version of the wedding invitation
If you’re not a digitizer, then this project will require a bit of digitizing assistance. However, you can have the couple’s wedding invitation digitized and then stitch it out on a nice linen or satin and frame it. Yes – it may cost you a bit to get the digitizing done, but the stitching and framing would be expensive. And most importantly – the sentiment will be priceless.
“I am so happy to have found Julie and Machine Embroidery Geek. I have taken a couple of classes like SewArt/SewWhatPro and Master the Machine. I am amazed at how down to earth the explanations in the class are. In the past people treated me as if I should already know everything and I was too proud to admit I didn’t. Julie takes you where you are and is very patient. I have even had some questions I could not work through on my own and she is a great resource. Thank you Julie for all your help.”
A few years back, at the 11th hour I needed a Christmas gift for some friends of ours (a couple) who have seemed to enjoy the items I have monogrammed for them in the past. But, I had already made them monogrammed towels, personalized robes and a monogrammed throw. So, I was running low on ideas.
