20 Dollar Tree Embroidery Blanks That Won’t Break the Bank

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I’m a shameless bargain hunter. I thrift, shop sales, and love my local Dollar Tree. I walk in to buy one thing and walk out twenty dollars poorer but feeling like I won the lottery. 

The point of this? Dollar Tree is an EXCELLENT place to find cheap embroidery blanks.

If you’re new to embroidery, these items allow you to test out your machine without breaking the bank.

You can even score great items from Dollar Tree to personalize as an established embroidery enthusiast.

And, for those of you who sell your embroidery, Dollar Tree is an excellent place to buy inexpensive items you can turn a good profit on. 

I took a trip to two of our local Dollar Trees to show you some of the available goodies.

Then, I put together this list of 20 Dollar Tree embroidery blanks that won’t break the bank. 

Some Easy Dollar Tree Embroidery Blanks

Dollar Tree is constantly rotating its stash of items, and this is a list of potential blanks I found just on these two trips to my local stores.

So, make a trip to your local store and keep an open mind when browsing. Look around for items that are thin, soft, and hoopable.

Even more options are available if you have a multi-needle machine with a free arm!

1. Towels and Washcloths

If you look around Dollar Tree’s kitchen and bathroom sections, there are tons of washcloths and towels in both places.

The quality isn’t good enough to sell, but these make great practice embroidery blanks! 

To embroider a towel, use a tear-away or wash-away stabilizer and water-soluble topping. A particularly fluffy towel may need a knockdown stitch or its equivalent. 

Tutorial: how to embroider a towel

2. T-Shirts

Several of my local Dollar Tree stores carry t-shirts! Sometimes, these shirts have holes in them, so carefully examine them for imperfections.

I got a huge haul of perfect-condition Gildan brand t-shirts right before the pandemic for $1 each. I’m slowly making my way through them with embroidery and Cricut crafts!

Tutorial: how to embroider on a t-shirt

3. Craft Aprons

Not all Dollar Trees have a Crafter’s Square, but ours does and carries these cute aprons!

If I’m looking for a simple thing to embroider as a gift for a kids’ birthday, for instance, it’s so much easier to buy an apron for $1 than sew one myself. 

4. Dog Collars

Embroidered dog collars have a HUGE markup if you’re looking to start an embroidery business.

Simply embroider a dog name and/or owner’s phone number on these collars and sell them to pet owners. Chewy.com sells embroidered dog collars just like these for almost $20!

Tutorial: how to machine embroider dog collars

5. Hats and Baseball Caps

Baseball caps are a hit-or-miss Dollar Tree embroidery blank at my local stores.

Because these hats are Dollar Tree quality, they are actually fairly thin. This makes it much easier to lay the hat flat for embroidery! 

Tutorial: how to embroider a hat or cap

6. Burlap Ribbon

You can find nice, wide options at Dollar Tree if you like to personalize burlap ribbon.

To embroider burlap, hoop sticky self-adhesive stabilizer and carefully choose a design. 

Tutorial: how to embroider on burlap

7. Tulle

While I’ve never actually purchased any Dollar Tree tulle to know the quality, I have good luck embroidering on tulle from JOANN or Hobby Lobby.

Choose a layer or two of water-soluble stabilizer and a compatible design. 

Tutorial: tulle embroidery tutorial

8. Sunglasses Cases

These sunglasses look to be made of neoprene scuba fabric and should be fairly easy to embroider as well. They have a zipper around the entire top of the case. This makes it easy to lay the sunglasses case flat on the embroidery hoop. 

9. Grosgrain Ribbon

While these are a chevron pattern, Dollar Tree also sometimes carries solid-colored grosgrain ribbon that is perfect for embroidering. My favorite thing to do with embroidered ribbon is to make it into hair bows!

Tutorial: how to monogram a hair bow

10. Potholder

Dollar Tree potholders are easy to embroider!

The back of the embroidery will show on the opposite side of the potholder, though. However, there are a few simple solutions. You can find several of them in my tutorial for how to embroider on a store-bought potholder.

Also, make sure to use thread that can withstand high heat as this will be going in and out of the oven. Metallic threads are definitely not a good idea!

11. Oven Mitt

If you have an embroidery machine with a free arm, it will be significantly easier to embroider an oven mitt. If you don’t, use a seam ripper to take apart one of the side seams. This will lay the mitt flat to embroider. When you’re done, sew the right sides together to attach the two sides together again. 

I also like to make doll and toddler oven mitts from these Dollar Tree oven mitts! 

12. Craft Fabric

Someone beat me to the stash of discount fabric here in the Dollar Tree Crafter’s Square. However, when the box is full of fabric, it’s usually decent quality fabric that comes in different colors and patterns. 

If you’re embroidering any remotely dense design on this quality of fabric, though, I’d recommend a good starching and using at least one layer of cut-away stabilizer to prevent puckering or tearing near the stitches. 

13. Toilet Paper

Did you know you can embroider toilet paper? I’ve been meaning to do a tutorial for a while. It’s a great gag gift or even a hostess gift! Plus, this blank has a great mark-up if you can find a niche market to sell your embroidered tp. 

If you’re going to embroider toilet paper, make sure you’re choosing a thicker, more sturdy piece of paper so you’ll have better stitch integrity. 

14. Paper Towels

Embroidering paper towels is just like embroidering toilet paper. This is another Dollar Tree embroidery blank that has a good markup and is a unique embroidery idea. Again, make sure to check that your paper towels are of good quality. 

Tutorial: how to machine embroider on paper towels

15. Paper Doilies

Use a cut-away stabilizer on the back and take care with floating, and you can make a VERY cute embroidered doily. 32 pieces for a Dollar is a great deal!

Tutorial: how to embroider a doily

16. Pillowcases

Dollar Tree has both satin and polyester pillowcases that are easy and fun to embroider on. I personally like the feel of the polyester over the satin pillowcases, and I had less puckering with the poly over satin when stitching, also. 

17. Straw Hat

While this isn’t the most stable straw hat you can purchase, with the right stabilizer, you should be able to add a monogram or fun design to the sides!

18. Stuffed Animals

You’ll have to do some searching for the perfect stuffed animal, but our Dollar Trees usually have a pretty good selection. As long as you can gently seam rip the area you want to embroider and have the ability to reassemble it, this is perfect! 

Tutorial: how to embroider a stuffed animal (bunny ear tutorial)

19. Baby Washcloths

There are lots of colors and patterns available in these cute baby washcloths. They might not last hundreds of washes, but they sure are good for practicing on!

20. Baby Blankets

One of our Dollar Trees had these cute fleece baby blankets! They’re not very thick, so I’d recommend a less dense design. 

Tutorial: how to embroider a baby blanket

Any other embroidery blanks at Dollar Tree to look out for?

I’m always looking for cheap embroidery blanks to practice on and even gift. While Dollar Tree doesn’t always have the best quality of blanks, sometimes they really nail it.

And hey, if you can’t find the perfect blank in-store, you may score on their website if you don’t mind purchasing in bulk. 

Want more options for stores, though? Check out where to buy embroidery blanks wholesale. 

And, don’t forget to browse my favorite Dollar Tree sewing supplies while you’re at it, and check out my favorite money-saving embroidery tips!