If you’re thinking of trying out embroidery, here’s a quick project to get you started. You don’t need lots of supplies. Get started with the basics and see what you think:
Any hand sewing needle will be suitable for embroidery. There are specific types of embroidery needles which are useful for different projects, but any sturdy sharp needle is perfect to start with.
Embroidery is suitable for almost any material - but some are easier to work with than others (we can get to wood and metal later...).
Cottons and linens are good, sturdy fabrics that support embroidery well. It’s a good idea to wash fabric before stitching to prevent shrinking in later washes, and to remove any chemical treatments from the production process as well.
Look for embroidery threads which stay colourfast. There are many popular quality brands such as DMC, Anchor, Madeira, Guterman and Sulky.
An embroidery hoop is really useful for keeping your fabric taut while you stitch. Some projects don’t need a hoop, but it takes a bit of concentration to manage the loose fabric and stitch without puckering it.
You can buy embroidery scissors, they’re nice and sharp, but ordinary scissors are fine. If you embroider regularly, you might want a pair of fabric scissors at some point.
Having a prepared embroidery design can be really useful, depending on how you work. You might prefer to draw or stitch a design freehand onto the fabric. I usually need to trace an outline to keep track of what I’m stitching.
You can trace your design onto fabric – lightboxes are useful here but using a window is very effective for this.
Alternatively, you can print or trace the design on wash away stabiliser, stick it onto the fabric and stitch through it. Check out my blog post on embroidery stickers here.
Pencils work well for drawing or tracing designs. Fabric markers can also be very useful, especially if they wash or fade away to leave no trace.
Once the design is transferred to the fabric, place it in the embroidery hoop. Make sure it’s stretched taut and secure, so you can stitch without the fabric puckering.
The video below has detailed demonstrations on how to get set up to stitch.
Backstitch is one of the best stitches to learn first. It’s simple to do and can be used for lots of different embroidery projects.
I used tiny straight stitches for the centre.
If you want to make the outline look more solid and give it a bit more definition whipped backstitch is very effective.
Once you’ve finished, wash your embroidery to get rid of stabilisers or fabric markers. Dry the embroidery flat and iron it on the reverse. Place the embroidery face down on a towel to iron, to help protect the stitches from getting flattened.
Admire your finished project while already planning the next one...
Design used: https://sweetthorn.co.uk/products/cosmos-flower-embroidery-sticker
Video instructions: