How To Embroidery in 2023 – Embroidery 101 – Easy to Learn

You might have witnessed your grandmother’s old wrinkled hands occupied with a needle, frame, and thread. Or one of her embroidery masterpieces somewhere in your home. Once in a while, you have thought of giving it a try to needlework.

Haven’t you?

Any sewing hobbyist with the know-how of embroidery stitches can learn how to embroidery.

All you need is your passion for this art and the tools involved in the procedure. The process of embroidery is simple, as well as intricate. Combine your skills and creativity to embroider stunning design patterns.

So, what are you waiting for?

With your embroidery machines and knowledge of simple stitches, you are all set to go onboard and learn about embroidery.

How To Embroidery : Tools You Need To Know

There are numerous embroidery tools available, but all kit for beginners typically contains the following tools:

Embroidery Hoop

Call it, an embroidery hoop or frame, available in plastic or wooden material, in different sizes. It consists of two interrelated rings that can be separated while you are hooping your fabric.

A perfect hooping helps you keep your fabric taut while you are embroidering. For larger projects, you can have a bigger hoop. Otherwise, a 3 by 3 inches hoop is ultra-cool for beginners.

Scissors

Embroidery scissors must have neat, sharp, and small blades. A practical and functional pair of scissors help you snip the floss effortlessly.

Floss

Embroidery thread or floss typically consists of 6 strands that are twisted loosely. So, you can use one or multiple strands to embroider your project. A new embroiderer should apply two or three strands for crafting an alluring embroidery design.

The choice is all yours!

Cotton, silk, linen, and rayon are the materials with which embroidery floss is composed of.

Water-Soluble Marker

This gadget is a must-have, especially when you are learning how to sew. Although any pen or chalk will do the tracing for you, I prefer using a water-soluble pen.

It helps you trace your favorite embroidery designs on a fabric handily. Plus, it leaves no stray markings behind the fabric. Once you are done with your embroidery design, you can quickly rinse away traces with water.

Embroidery Needles

For smooth and uninterrupted stitching, you need an embroidery needle with a great eye and sharp tip. The shaft of your needle must pass through the fabric easily without tearing it.

Some famous embroidery needles are:

They come in different sizes. If you are new to embroidery, I would suggest you have a medium-sized needle for your needlework.

How To Thread The Needles For Embroidery?

Threading a needle was a headache for me when I started creating embroidery. But eventually, with the trial and error method, I learned it. You can follow in my footsteps to thread your needle hassle-free.

First of all, wet the very edge of your thread so that it can be flattened. Now hold the needle in one hand and the thread in your other hand. Insert the flat edge of the thread through the needle’s eye.

Whoa! The needle gets threaded.

But If you have poor eyesight, you can use a white background to make the process of needle threading easy.

How To Use An Embroidery Hoop?

You are having your embroidery hoop but don’t know how to use it? Look at your hoop closely. It does not matter if it is plastic-made or wooden. It has 2 rings that are carefully packed with one another.

Use a screw attached to the outer ring to separate both rings from one another. Adjust a square-shaped fabric piece on the inner ring that is smaller in size. Now place the outer and more massive ring on top.

Use the screw to lock the fabric inside the hoop. Now your fabric is sandwiched between the rings of the hoop. Neither too loose nor too tightens the screw of the hoop.

You can only create the most beautiful embroidery pattern when you learn to keep the fabric taut in a hoop.

Select The Best Stitches For Embroidery

Here, in this article, I have discussed fundamental embroidery stitches. Learn how to do these basic stitches as they can be used as the groundwork for other complex stitches.

As a beginner, you should start doing simple and basic stitches. By mastering a few basic stitches, you can lay your hands on other latest stitches to create trendy embroideries.

Some best stitches to get started with embroidery are:

How To Start Learning

Now you have equipped yourself with all embroidery supplies and learned basic stitches. You are ready to start your first project.

Get Prepared for Your Embroidery Fabric

You can start embroidering on any fabric of your choice. I like using 100% cotton and linen fabric for my embroidery. Always pre-wash your fabric even before hooping it, especially when you are using cotton and linens. Pre-washing ensures that the fabric has got shrunk.

Let the fabric dry and then iron it to make it ready for your first embroidery project. You can also pre-wash your threads to avoid color bleeding. Don’t forget to test one strand of dark-shaded threads before starting embroidery.

Find An Embroidery Design And Trace It On the Fabric

You can take inspiration from your surroundings to find your first embroidery design. Embroidery is all about creativity, so you can use your imagination to bring forth a design.

You can also google simple and easy-going designs and make them as a reference for your embroidery project. Once you have found your design, you are required to trace it down on the fabric.

Always try using a water-soluble pen or marker to trace your embroidery design. The marking method works when you want to craft an original design.

But you may need to transfer a borrowed design onto your fabric. Then you can use a lightbox. In case you don’t have a lightbox, use sunlight as a substitute for transferring your favorite design.

The Knot

Although expert embroidered, never appreciate using a knot to start embroidery needlework. But I don’t mind using knots in my project unless they are too many. Instead, a beginner may find this method super easy.

Tie a knot at the one end of your thread and pass the needle through your fabric from below. The knot will remain at the back of the fabric. Now you can start stitching right away. For satin stitch, this method goes pretty well.

But for many other stitches, many knots at the back of your fabric will tarnish the beauty of a well-crafted sample. That’s why knots are not considered a useful technique in starting an embroidery.

The Waste Knot

As the name indicates, the waste knot never corrupts the beauty of the design. Tie a knot on the tail of your embroidery thread and take your first stitch from the front side of your fabric.

Make sure that you place a waste knot away from your embroidery design. Now start taking a few stitches towards the waste knot to cover it and lock its tail. Once your stitches get secured, you can cut the knot away.

The Loop

As I mentioned earlier, knots are not popular with expert embroiderers. They give an untidy and bouncy look to your project. An alternative technique to get started on an embroidery project is the loop method.

This method is perfect to start embroidery. Use one single strand of your floss and double it. Pull both ends through your needle and take your first stitch from the right side, leaving a loop on the backside.

Now let the needle pass through the loop and pull it. This way, you have tightened your loop and secured your first stitch. Now, you can go on embroidering your stitches successively.

How To End Embroidery?

If you have learned how to start embroidery, you can also learn to end it correctly. Moreover, when all goes well, the end goes well too.

Starting embroidery is a tricky phenomenon, but ending it is very simple. When you are done with your last stitch, bring the threaded needle to the back of your fabric. Now let your threaded needle run under the last few stitches.

Or another way,

You can weave through the last couple of stitches. This way, your embroidery project is secured. Avoid using knots to give an end to your project. A neat and clean embroidery back speaks for your excellent and accomplished skills.

Iron your embroidery craft to remove any wrinkles. Finally, a sigh of relief for creating the first hand-embroidered masterpiece is your achievement.

Conclusion

Embroidery has been taken as an expensive and time-consuming hobby. But this is not the case. With a needle, frame, and a string of floss, you can embroider your first stitch. They don’t cost you a liver or heart.

Just by keeping in mind a couple of essential tips and simple stitching techniques, you can learn how to embroider. I hope this article is useful for your initial queries about embroidery.

Join a group of embroiderers on a social media platform to discuss your findings and questions. Embroider straight and passionately and enjoy your hobby with a breeze.