I see many beautiful pieces of clothing and decorative pieces enhanced with pretty details like applique and embroidery. Many look quite detailed and complicated, but once I tried my hand at basic embroidery, I realized I just needed to follow the steps (regardless how it turned out haha).
Nowadays, even the most basic sewing machines can do simple embroidery stitches, but as with anything sewing-related, you don’t need to invest in a machine to start embroidering.
What you need to start off:
- A hand-sewing needle (an embroidery needle would be great, but if you don’t have any, a larger-sized normal hand-sewing needle would do)
- Suitable colored thread to match the needle (if you’re using embroidery floss, you can separate the strands so it is less thick to fit the needle you’re using – I usually prefer to use 2-3 strands at most)
- An image to embroider (something easy for you to trace or draw freehand on the fabric)
- A piece of fabric to work on (as a tester)
- An embroidery hoop would be useful, but not compulsory
Using a sewing machine to do the embroidery is another lesson, another time.
Embroidery can look complicated, but it’s basically repeating the same hand-stitch over and over again in a consistent manner. There are many different types of stitches used in hand embroidery, but the simplest is the straight/running stitch, or its variations – the satin stitch and the backstitch – so we will start with this.
One of the easiest things to try to embroider is a flower. No need to get too ambitious, though – choose a simple flower to make using a simple satin stitch, running stitch and backstitch to start off with. These simple stitches are a good start to learning hand embroidery.
I used this basic flower design – this design allows me to repeat the three stitch types over and over, giving me good practice in keeping my stitches small and neat.
Draw it out free-hand on a test piece of fabric, similar to the item you actually want to embroider on later (it could be a towel, a handkerchief, or even a cute plain onesie to give to a new parent!) using a fabric marker. If you have an embroidery hoop, place the fabric in it – make sure the material is stretched tight just right before you start.
Thread the needle and tie a knot at the end, and bring the needle up from the wrong side of the fabric at any point along the outer flower petals (alternatively, you can also do a quick backstitch at your starting point and bring your needle up right next to the stitch). Do a running stitch all around each outer petal, keeping the spacing small and similar in size to create the outline.
Repeat the same for the inner flower circle, but this time, with a backstitch to create a tight outline for each circle.
Re-thread your needle with a different colored thread, make a knot and start from the wrong side of the fabric, right at the edge of the inner circle. Use a satin stitch to fill the circle up (from side to side as per point A – B, C – D), keeping your stitches as neat and close to each other as possible. Tie off your thread at the bottom of your stitches on the wrong side, and repeat the same for the overall design.
The type of fabric used as the embroidery base, as well as the type and color of thread chosen, can give a different impact to the outcome. Using materials like silk or satin with metallic or deep-colored threads create a luxurious result, while simple cotton bases can be livened up with brightly-colored embroidery. Of course, as you get better at hand embroidery, the designs you use will also create an impression! This gives you a chance to learn and practice fancier stitches to create your visual masterpiece.
As with any skill, keep practicing and eventually the outcome will be neat enough! Once you feel you’ve mastered these stitches, you can try other embroidery stitches like the French knot, stem stitch, chain stitch, feather stitch, split stitch, blanket stitch and so many more!