Getting Started in Embroidery

One of the easiest crafts to start, both in experience needed and cost of supplies, is embroidery. Quite often, I have people say to me “I’d love to start embroidering, but it all looks a bit complicated.” I guess I take for granted the fact that I learned at a very young age and at the hands of a very patient grandmother.  It is my hope that this tutorial will help you sort out those bits and set you on your merrily stitching way!

Items that you need to get started:

• Embroidery hoop – needs to be at least 1” larger than the pattern you want to embroider. I personally prefer the wooden ones over the plastic. I feel that the tension control is better. However, you can use whichever you wish.
• Embroidery floss – Cotton floss is cheap and easy to find at most craft stores
• Embroidery needle
• Sharp scissors
• Fabric to be embroidered
• Iron On embroidery pattern of choice or any other method of transferring a pattern that you prefer
   (discussed below!)

About embroidery floss…

1.       Find the end of one of the skeins of embroidery floss. Most all floss has 6 strands. You can choose to use 1-6 strands while embroidering. The more strands the chunkier/heavier the stitch. Fine detail work requires only 1-2 strands. I generally work with 3 strands.

2.     It is mostly color fast. I have had some problem with threads in the red tones bleeding. Be careful about getting your work wet! Large Ziploc bags can be your friend when storing your work.

3.       Knotting your floss when starting or ending your stitching is not a bad thing, especially for a person new to embroidery. You can learn the tricks to no knots later. 

4.       To avoid lots of headaches, only work with about 12 inches of thread at a time for now.

How to choose fabric to embroider…

1.       For a beginner, choose a fabric made of natural fibers like cotton, wool or linen. Man-made fibers can be embroidered BUT the stretch in those materials can make you lose your mind! (It messes with the tension of your fabric in your hoop and as a result, your stitching.)

2.        

      Use a medium weight fabric. Think about your pillow cases. That is a good medium weight. In fact, if you have an extra pillow case or sheet in your closet, try practicing on it.

3.       Always cut your fabric at least 4” bigger than your hoop. It can be a serious pain to deal with too little fabric along the edge of your hoop as you are working.

What type of needle do I use?

                 Embroidery needles come in lots of shapes and sizes. The most important part is the size of the needle eye in relation to the amount of floss strands being used. The eye of the needle preps the fabric for the thread to pass through.  If the eye is too small, then it can cause you problems with your tension as you try to pull it through the fabric and may cause your floss to shred which can be a huge mess. The more strands used, the larger the eye needed. If your thread “pops” as it passes through the fabric, you need to go up in eye size.

Transferring a Pattern

                If you have chosen an iron on pattern (such as Aunt Martha's ), simply follow the directions on the package. Be sure to protect the ironing surface as the heat activated ink can pass through your fabric. I have a lovely flower pattern as a permanent decoration on my craft table due to lack of protection while ironing. My daughter finds it quite lovely though. ;)

                If you have the artistic flare, you can free hand a design onto your fabric using a transfer pen or even a regular school pencil. Be careful with those vanishing ink fabric markers though. You don’t want your design to fade before you finish stitching!

                If you have a printed pattern (i.e. from your computer printer), you can use a light box to transfer your pattern to the fabric by laying the fabric on top of your pattern. However, if you don’t have access to a light box, you can do the same thing using a window on a sunny day. Tape your print out to the window. Center your fabric over the pattern and tape. Then trace onto the fabric. 

Now let’s get started!

1.       Loosen the outer hoop by the screw and remove it. Set it aside.

2.       Center your fabric and pattern over the inner hoop.

3.       Replace the outer hoop over the inner hoop and the fabric.

4.       Tighten the screw.

5.       Gently pull the fabric along all along the outside of the hoop to tighten the fabric. Tighten screw and continue until you can tap the fabric like a drum.

6.       Decide which thread to start with, separate strands if needed.

7.       Thread your needle and knot the other end.

8.       Start stitching! Choose a stitch that looks interesting and give it a go!

 **Some easy stitches are: back stitch, split stitch and chain. **

Here's the finished design for you curious folk! My fabric is a tea towel that I had handy. I free handed the design with a vanishing fabric marker. The blue flowers are lazy daisy, the gold flower center is 3-4 french knots (a bit challenging for a beginner) and the green vines are worked in split stitch.

Beginner Embroiderer's troubleshooting

My thread is twisting in on itself!

                Hold your hoop in the air and allow the thread and needle to dangle. It will work itself out on its own.  The longer the thread that you work with, the worse this problem can be.

How do I stop a line of stitching?

                Finish your last stitch on the underside of the fabric. Knot it and snip.

What if I get a knot on the underside while I stitch?

                Don’t stress this! It happens to everyone. With time, you’ll learn how to unknot.  Just leave it be for the time being.

For some reason, my stitches are pulling apart. I can see through the needle hole in the fabric.
              There could be 2 reasons for this. Your needle could be too big for the amount of floss strands used so switch to a small needle. The other reason could be that you are pulling your thread too taut as you stitch. Loosen up a bit and you should see the holes disappear. 

The edges of my fabric are fraying! HALP!
               This happens with many fabrics and the fix is easy as a trip to your craft store or even WalMart. There is a product called Fray Check. It's a glue that once dry (as quick as 10-15 minutes!) will keep your fabric from unraveling. It does have a strong odor when applying it but that will dissipate. Also, you only need a thin line of the glue around the edge for it to work properly.

Random Notes

                The Needlework category on Craftster is amazing with lots of patterns, tutorials and techniques!

               

                SublimeStitching and Feeling Stitchy are 2 sites well worth perusing when you get a chance.

               

                Feel free to ask me questions here.  I don’t mind at all! 

HAPPY STITCHING!!