With the winter months ahead, you might be finding yourself at home more and more. This is the perfect time a year for crafting. And here is a really easy one: adding embroidery to bring old clothing new life. For example, find that old jean jacket you grew bored of and stitch a unicorn on that baby, and it’s like new!
There’s no need to go out and buy fancy supplies, go with the flow and whatever you can get you hands on. You can actually find a plethora of crafting supplies at most thrift stores for dirt cheap.
First things first you will need a needle that is large enough to pass your thread through. Next, you will need at least one color of embroidery floss. They sell these supplies at any craft store. Third, you will need fabric, anything will do including clothing or tablecloths. The possibilities are endless. And last of all you will need an embroidery hoop. This is essential for most fabrics. It pulls the fabric taut to give you the flattest surface to work on. Some fabrics that are very thick and stiff do not require this, like, felt or leather. Some people like to use iron on transfers. These are patterns you can find online and buy special printer paper to iron on your fabric. But you can always draw your own or even stitch without. Felt is a good fabric for freehand stitching. With it you can stitch ideas as they come to you, like drawing a picture.
There are many different ways ways to stitch. An easy one to start with is the back stitch. It’s called a back
stitch is because you take one stitch froward and then one stitch back. Other stitches include a running
stitch, satin, chain, split and stem stitch. The split stitch it pretty fun and similar to a back stitch, the only difference is that when you stitch backward you enter through the middle of the last stitch, splitting the stitch and giving it more detail. For a really pretty effect you could use the satin stitch. This stitch could be used to completely fill in a space or a word. It adds a nice embellishment and adds a satin sheen to it’s finish.Threading the needle can be tricky but you can use needle threader to help you.
The back should be a chaotic mess like this.
When you are finished you can tie a knot off in the back. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to work. It’s sew easy! Now, you have created a masterpiece that you can dazzle your friends with!
Photos and Words by Sarah Elliott.