Hearts are amongst the easiest images to draw. There’s no right or wrong version – hearts can be big or small, wide or stretched thin, plump and rounded or thin and curled – the possibilities are endless. It also makes hearts amongst the best designs to start embellishing items with, including by embroidery.
You only need the basics to start off with:
- Embroidery needle
- Your preferred embroidery thread (I generally use DMC threads – you can separate the strands depending on the thickness of the heart outline you want)
- Scissors or a thread cutter
- Water-soluble marker to draw with – you can use tailor’s chalk too, but I find that a bit bulky and cumbersome for this purpose
- The item of clothing you wish to embroider (or a test piece of similar-weight cotton/linen to work with initially)
- An embroidery hoop big enough to stretch your material on (this is optional, but it makes the embroidery work much easier!)
If you’re not too confident of your skills yet, start off with the test fabric. Stretch it out over the embroidery hoop and hold it in place – make sure the fabric is stretched taut. Draw out a simple heart outline (without making the fabric droop) with the water-soluble marker.
Cut off a length of embroidery thread based on the size of your heart outline (if you’re not sure, start off with a 10-inch length. Separate the strands of the embroidery thread (use 1 if you’re just beginning to embroider, or if you just prefer a thin outline), thread your needle and tie off a knot at the end.
The simplest way to embroider your heart design is by using the running stitch. From under the hoop, bring your needle up through the fabric at your starting point (Point A). About a quarter-inch away, push the needle down through the fabric (Point B) and bring it up again at another quarter-in point (Point C). Repeat this all around the heart design until the outline is complete, tie off a knot, snip the thread and you’re all set! Keep your fabric taut on the hoop, to make it easier to sew even stitches.
If you’re keen to do fancier stitches, you can use a straight stitch, or even a stem stitch, instead of the running stitch, for the outline. You can also fill in the heart design with multiple straight stitches. Using a different color-ed thread to fill in the design would also make a fun addition.
Now that you’ve got your test version done, do the same thing to the onesie (or any other item that you’re planning to embroider with a heart) – you just have to be careful to not go through both front and back pieces of the onesie when embroidering, if it’s the slip-on kind. Maneuver your needle inside the onesie as you push it down and up again. Have a go and see how it looks!
The trick is to be comfortable with one type of stitch first, then upgrade your skills and projects with other varieties. For your other hearts, you can embellish the embroidery further with French knots, or slip a bead in between the stitches (not advisable for onesies though).