In this tutorial, you will learn how to make a bridal shower towel cake. A towel cake makes a beautiful decoration or centerpiece at a bridal shower, a practical and thoughtful gift for the bride and is sure to bring lots of smiles and compliments your way! It's also very easy to make even if you are not a crafter.
Below you will find a simple tutorial plus over 25 reader submissions and other inspirational photos. If you would like to submit your own cake design, please email us your name and a clear photo. We'd love to post them in the tutorial!
MATERIALS & TOOLS
The basic materials and tools required for this simple towel cake design are listed below. 
- Towel Set - 2 bath, 2 hand and 2 wash cloths. (Thick, high-quality towels are best for this project.)
- Ribbon - Any width and any color (about 130 inches long)
- Silk Rose Petals - Any color (About 100 petals)
- A large silk flower or grouping of small flowers
- Six large safety pins (2" long, color can match your towels)
- Sharp scissors (for professional ribbon cuts)
- Tape measure
- Wire cutters (Optional for cutting silk flower stems. Old scissors work too.)
- Wooden dowel (Optional for holding layers together for transport. You can buy singles at craft or fabric shops.)
DIY TUTORIAL: HOW TO MAKE A TOWEL CAKE
Step 1: Fold and Roll the Towels - Fold each hand towel in half lengthwise twice. Start with one end and roll the towels up together as shown. Secure the ends of the towels to itself with two large safety pins, one at the top and one at the bottom of each layer.
Set this towel layer aside for now. Repeat this process with the wash cloths and set them aside as well. Fold each bath towel in half lengthwise and repeat the folding until the width of the towel is roughly six inches wide.
Roll the two bath towels together in the same manner as the hand and wash towels. You should now have the three layers of the "cake."
Step 2: Stack the Layers & Add the Ribbons - Using your measuring tape, cut the ribbon into 60", 40" and 30" lengths.
Tie the large piece of ribbon around the bath towels in a bow as shown and trim the ends on an angle with sharp scissors. (Dull scissors will fray ribbons and result in uneven cuts.)
Repeat this process for the other two cake layers. When complete, stack the cake layers starting with the largest layer at the bottom and center the bows at the front.
Note: You may add an optional wooden dowel down through the stacked layers of the cake which will help stabilize the cake for transport if needed and it is good for heavily decorated cakes with draped decorating details or lots of additional embellishments.
Step 3: Add the Decorative Details - Using wire cutters, cut the stem of the large flower (or group of flowers) to about six inches long and gently push it (them) into the top center of the cake.
Lastly, sprinkle silk rose petals around the cake remembering to put a few on the layers too. As you will see below, there are endless ways to decorate your towel cake! You can make them tall and skinny or more stout and in any color or theme you like.
For a two-layer cake, you can skip the wash cloth layer on top and and hide them in the second layer instead.
TOWEL CAKE INSPIRATION
READER SUBMISSIONS :)
Design 1: Rosemary Tyson sent us this photo of a beautiful towel cake she created for an upcoming bridal shower. She used pretty lace and silk daisies on blue towels.
Design 2: Terri Dudash sent in her cake design which will be featured in an upcoming bridal magazine. She used white towels, white and yellow silk flowers, and tucked in green leaves at the base.
Design 3: Blanch Ostrander used beautiful sheer lavender ribbon, purple silk flowers and other interesting accents to embellish her cake. She then added travel-size spa products and votive candles to the layers and topped the cake off with a bath poof.
Design 4: Janet Thorpe created this elegant cake with light ivory towels, wired floral ribbon and hydrangea accents. According to Janet, the bride was delighted and it made a wonderful centerpiece for the bridal shower.
Design 5: Nicole Finn found the perfect gift for her cousin's shower. Her bridesmaids are wearing chocolate brown dresses with pink accents so she created the cake with this color scheme in mind. She layered pink ribbon on wider chocolate satin ribbon and added pink roses.
Design 6: Jan Vallejo created this colorful four-layer cake for her daughter's bridal shower. She used silk flowers and satin ribbon around each of the layers. She then topped the cake off with a bath poof.
Design 7: Rebecca Steffler used white textured towels in her cake design. She wrapped the towels in a striped, floral, sheer ribbon and added small white flowers around the base of each layer and a few on the top. A beautiful pink lily added the final touch to the top of the cake.
Design 8: Marlen Roberts used white towels, shimmering gold ribbon and purple jewels on her cake. She also pinned some gold rosettes and then added some mini white doves. The flowers are purple and lilac mixed white baby's breath. A purple bath poof accents the top with seed pearls draping downward from the poof.
Design 9: Margaret Siegert created this romantic towel cake using white towels and silk flowers in lavender, white and cream. To give this cake a romantic look, she added delicate pearl sprays on each layer and finished with tiny white satin bows accents.
Design 10: Kari Easley designed this delightful towel cake with plush burgundy towels, white rose garlands and sheer floral-patterned ribbon. According to Kari, the cake was a great conversation piece at her sister-in law's wedding shower and really pulled the whole party together.
Design 11: Sandy Buono made a beautiful towel cake for her daughter's bridal shower. She secured white cake layers with sheer wired ribbon and wrapped a pretty cherry blossom garland around the layers from the base to the top. She then placed a bow made of the same ribbon on top of the cake and let the longer strands drape down. The final touches include single flowers tucked into the top layer and a whimsical cake topper.
Design 12: Victoria Bayley sent us a picture of her elegant ivory and gold towel cake. She used silk flowers, ribbon roses, string-pearls and lace accents to decorate her cake. Recognizing she needed to be able to transport her cake, she cleverly set it on foil-covered cardboard, then wrapped it all with gold tulle. She then finished it off with shimmering gold ribbon and a contrasting blue flower.
Design 13: We created this towel cake for our booth at the Bride's Club Bellevue Bridal Expo. We used white towels and wide light blue double-faced satin and satin-edged chiffon ribbon for the color scheme. We then accented the cake with a rhinestone brooch, two prism sprays, and sparkling 6.5mm crystal diamond table confetti on each of the layers. A silver cake stand completed the look.
Design 14: Jessica Patera sent us a photo of her simply gorgeous, white and yellow towel cake. She used white towels and accented them with yellow silk roses and satin ribbon. She then added white pins with round heads to the rest of the cake and completed the look with a unique cake topper.
Design 15: Iris Gilson-Kerr & Ashley Graham-Hamer created this wonderful fall-themed towel cake using cream towels with brown ribbons and fall leaf accents. They topped the cake with coordinating peonies and even bought a cake knife and stand to go with it!
Design 16: Laura from Waterbury from Connecticut made this beautiful, red accented towel cake for her niece's bridal shower. She used four bath towels; two towels for the bottom layer and one for the middle layer, rolling each end of the towel to the center so that it would not be the same size as the top layer. This created a "pocket".
She put "thank you" notes in the pocket as an added surprise and then one towel for the top layer. Red ribbon lace held each layer together. She then added string pearls using pearl headed corsage pins to secure the lace and allow the pearls to hang evenly. Lastly she decorated the top with red and white silk roses and ribbons.
Design 17: Pat Sanders from Michigan sent us this photo of her gorgeous white and yellow-rose towel cake. She chose waffle-textured towels to compliment the basket weave design on the bird cake topper and simply wrapped floral garlands around each layer. She mentioned that she made this one for a centerpiece at her daughter's bridal shower and everyone thought it was real!
Design 18: Judy from Ocean Pointe, Hawaii sent us this stunning cake design made from fuchsia and lime towels. Although she made it for a child's birthday celebration, the design can be adapted to a bridal shower by simply changing the motif. The bottom tier was made with two bath towels, the third tier with one bath towel and the second tier with two hand towels. Two wash cloths made up the top tier.
She kept the tiers together with an empty paper towel roll in the center and a cake circle at the bottom. The finishing touches were contrasting polka dot ribbon and orange basket shred. She personalized it with the birthday girl's name and some cute graphics printed on her home computer.
Design 19: Jackie Hall sent us this elegant 25th wedding anniversary cake she made for a friend. She used white towels and accented each layer with white silk flowers, shiny silver ribbon and three poufs of curling ribbon down the front. She then attached silver cutouts of the number 25. This cake is sure to be the talk of the party!
Design 20: Judy from Hawaii sent us another cake she made for an up-coming wedding. She choose pink and brown towels which were the bride's wedding colors. She made the bottom tier with two bath towels, the third tier with one bath towel, the second tier with two hand towels.
Two wash cloths made up the top tier. She kept the tiers together with an empty paper towel roll in the center and a cardboard cake-circle at the bottom. The finishing touches included contrasting polka dot ribbon and pink basket shred.
Design 21: Barb Grofe made this beautiful towel cake for an upcoming bridal shower. She used four white bath towels, four hand towels and six washcloths. She then added damask ribbon, pink gerbera daisies and white and aurora borealis crystal seed beads. All the beading, except the black and white trim on the top layer, was hand-strung on wire and then placed on the cake. A few feather butterflies, silver accents and a silver cake top initial finished the look.
Design 22: Barb Grofe sent us a photo of another gorgeous towel cake she recently made. This time she used two bath towels, three hand towels and three washcloths. She used popsicle sticks to hold the tiers together and decorated it with 27 ivory silk roses and a few sprigs of silk baby's breath. The scalloped trim was made using silver pearls and turquoise seed beads hand strung on wire to hold the shape and secured with corsage pins. The butterflies are turquoise tulle with clear glitter and gems. The curlicues on the top are made of wire strung with turquoise seed beads.
Design 23: Penny Johnson from Canada was kind enough to send us a photo of her beautiful purple and lavender towel cake. She used two full sets of white towels and wrapped them in purple, white and silver ribbons. She then accented her cake with silk flowers, diamond confetti and bride and groom rhinestone decals.
Design 24: This lovely pink towel cake was also designed by Penny Johnson. For this cake she used pink and white ribbons with diamond confetti accents, rhinestone buckles and a floral topper. This cake would also be perfect for a baby shower and would look great in a blue or yellow theme as well.
Design 25: Penny Johnson also decorated this sophisticated looking towel cake in fall colored ribbons. She accented the cake with a couple of glass champagne flutes, rhinestone buckles and gold silk flowers. Another beautiful cake, Penny!
Design 26: This eye-catching red and white towel cake designed by Penny Johnson features gorgeous ribbon accents with white silk flowers. She added more detail with rhinestone buckles and diamond confetti and once again included the set of champagne flutes which the bride can use at her reception during the toast.
Design 27: This towel cake design, also by Penny Johnson from Canada, is decorated with pretty gold and silver ribbons and white silk orchids. She placed a few gold beaded garlands for extra interest and to bring out the gold color in the ribbons. Clear diamond confetti and a set of clear glass flutes add a beautiful sparkle to this design which would also make a stunning anniversary gift. Thank you Penny for all your wonderful towel cake submissions! :)
Design 28: Danielle Bradshaw made this pretty towel cake with white towels, navy ribbon, yellow silk sunflowers and smaller white flowers. She then added four kitchen utensils and created a topper with a navy bath puff and glittered letter. Her cake was a big hit at the recent bridal shower she attended!
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