So you’re ready to get started with hand embroidery — YAY! And welcome to the dark side of textile art.
First thing you’ll want to do is gather your necessary supplies:
Fabric
Floss
Hoop
Needle
Scissors
Some optional items you might want, include: thimble, seam ripper, FriXion heat-erasable pen, stabilizer, and/or needle threader.
The first order of business is to mount your fabric in your hoop.
If your fabric is thin or light colored, you may want to back it with a lightweight piece of white fabric. This will stabilize your fabric and your stitches won’t pull and pucker the fabric.
Unscrew the hoop enough to loosen and separate the rings of the hoop. Place your fabric over the inner/smaller ring on a flat surface, making sure the design is centered in the hoop.
Slip the outer/larger ring onto the inner ring and fabric and tighten the screw. Pull gently on the fabric uniformly around the hoop to tighten it. You will want it tight, but not stretched out too much.
I use DMC floss that is 6-stranded. Unless you’re stitching something that needs to be bold and chunky, you’re most likely going to want to use 2 or 3 strands of the floss. Cut a length of 18-24″ and gently separate the strands.
Thread your needle, tying a knot at the long end.
You’re ready to stitch!
