SUBLIME STITCHING

SUBLIME STITCHING HOME - PATTERNS - KITS - View Cart / Checkout

Who has the time to embroider anything? It even sounds painstaking, time-consuming and intimidating.
Pshaw. This is a deceptively simple craft. Embroidery is easy, relaxing, and one of the least expensive crafts you can take up.

Get The Complete Instructional Kit!

STITCH-IT KIT by Jenny Hart
out NOW from Chronicle Books
(click to order)

TOOL BOX

Getting started in embroidery is a one-stop shopping trip. You can usually find everything you need in a craft or fabric store for around $20 - $30, assuming you need everything involved. Many of the supplies can be obtained from crafty friends, gramma's sewing stash, or mom's extras.

Needles: Any size you feel comfortable with will do. Just be sure the needle is sharp (some pincushions have a little sand-sachet for sharpening your needle), and that you can easily thread it. Use a thimble, or a leather finger cover (cut off an old glove) if your finger gets sore.

Thread/Floss: Anything goes. So long as you can thread it on a needle and pass it through the fabric, go for it. DMC six-strand cotton embroidery floss is the easiest to work with and can be found at any craft or fabric store. It's cheap, and comes in a gazillion shades. A "skein" of floss will set you back about $.30. I grab handfuls. For finer detail work, you can divide and the strands (to use three strands, for example) to reduce the thickness and create finer lines.

Fabric: The pleasure of embroidering is having a fabric that you can easily work on. Cotton, muslin, diaper cloth and linen are all perfect candidates for embroidery. Nothing is more frustrating than a weave that is too tight to pull a needle through, or that snags and fights with you. Sometimes I take a needle with me to the fabric store and test it on the edge of a fabric to see if it will pass through the weave easily.

What about T-Shirt Fabric? Ugh. It's really a drag to work on. But if you must, get some tearaway, waste (or 'stabilizer') fabric to iron on the back where you'll be stitching. This will hold the fabric in place. You stitch through both layers, the fabric and the paper, and tear it off when you're finished. Ta Daa!

Scissors: Small, sharp scissors are essential. You will do a lot of snipping and pulling of mislaid threads. You know those beautiful, dainty stork scissors? That's just what they're for.

Embroidery Hoop: Wood hoops are fine to start with, but if you think you'll become an avid needlworker, go for plastic, metal or finished wood. A 4" or 7" hoop is a good size to start with. Not too big, and not too little.

...that I do not consider myself to be an expert in embroidery. I am a beginner, like you, who was frustrated at the lack of instructions (and designs) for contemporary crafters who had no previous experience holding a needle and thread. When I started embroidering, I was so shocked at how easy it was I thought "For silly sakes, this can be explained in a much better way!" So, have no fear, some simple instructions are here.

The simplest thing to start with is a tea-towel. You can buy finished, blank tea-towels at most craft stores, which are made specifically to be embroidered. Or, if you want to make your own towel, just hem the edges of an 18" x 24" piece of 100% cotton pique (pronounced "pick-ay"), diaper cloth, monk's cloth, muslin or flour-sack cloth. If you're feeling extra crafty, make some smaller napkins to go with your towel. Some of these fabrics have a fringed, "selvage" edge that works well along the bottom edge of your towel, which does not need to be hemmed.

The first step, the real secret of getting started, is having a pattern to follow. There are numerous ways to get a pattern on your towel before you embroider it. Lines can be drawn directly on the cloth with chalk or pencil, you can trace a pattern using dressmaker's carbon paper, or you can simply use some fancy stitches along the edge.

If you want dancing veggies or tiki drinks adorning your linens, the easiest way to go is with an iron-on transfer pattern. They're made with a special ink so they can be used more than once, allowing you to combine them in your own unique way.

Have a design of your own, or one from a pattern book that you want to transfer to cloth? Here are two easy ways of doing this:

1. Transfer Pencil: Photocopy the image and trace it with a transfer pencil, then use the pattern like an iron-on. This won't work for any images with lettering though, since the pattern will be reversed.

2. Dressmaker's Carbon Paper: Trace your image onto the cloth with a sheet of dressmaker's carbon paper, face down, between the image and the cloth. Available at any craft or fabric store, carbon paper colors come in red, blue, and even white for working on dark fabrics.

Of course, you can take a decorative stitch and use it without a pattern. Use a hidden or blanket stitch (see diagrams next page) in white floss along the hem of a black skirt, for example. No pattern needed!

Separate the two embroidery hoops from each other. Lay the imprinted cloth across the non-adjustable hoop so that the pattern is within the hoop. Now place the adjustable hoop over these and press down. Make sure the top hoop is not too tight, or you may tear the fabric. Before tightening the screw, gently pull your fabric taut, like a drum-head. Once your fabric is pulled evenly across the hoop, tighten the screw. You may need to re-tighten the fabric and hoop as you work on them. When not embroidering, loosen the adjustable hoop to avoid distortion of the fabric. The idea is to keep your fabric nice and tight when you're working on it. It's much easier to work on, and will prevent your stitches from looking loose and messy.

Cut a length of floss or thread about 12-13" long (the length of your thumb and forefinger to your elbow). Thread the needle, and make a knot at one end (there is no need to make a knot at the needle end, just pull it through enough so it won't slip through the eye while you're working). You will begin from behind the hoop, not by going through the front. With your fabric ready on the hoop, start by bringing your needle up from under the fabric until you hit the knot. Now, bring the needle back down through, and you've made a stitch! Ready for more?

Next Page: Stitch Diagrams...