Four Little Things

Have you been thinking about trying embroidery, but you don’t know quite how to start? Figuring out what supplies you will need to actually do a project might seem overwhelming. We’ve got some suggestions of how to affordably get started.  Here’s the best news…you only need four things to begin:  fabric, embroidery floss, a hoop, and a needle.  

Four little things to get start with embroidery.

Let’s start with the fabric.  You can stitch on almost any fabric you can find, but woven fabrics (not knits) are the easiest to use. Quilting cotton is a great choice because it is fairly inexpensive and you can find a lot of options pretty easily. A woven gingham (as we’re using for this quilting project by Blair Stocker of Wise Craft Handmade), is also a delight.  Linen is always lovely.  If you want to use a high-end, beautiful fabric, the good news is you don’t need much. A fat quarter would be plenty for multiple hoops. 

An assortment of orange fabrics that would all work for embroidery.

Gingham is great for learning embroidery stitches. You can use the squares or lines to help make even stitches.

If you want to save some money on the fabric, there are less expensive options. When shopping second hand, we always look for pillow cases or sheets, a dress shirt or a dress, napkins, table linens and even shower curtains.  If you have a pile of clothes to donate, consider taking a look there, too.  You can definitely cut up an old shirt to make some hoops or smaller projects. If you’ve never tried stitching on a print, we have a lot of inspiration for giving that a try. (check out some of our projects here.) Don’t feel like you need to limit yourself to solid color fabrics. Patterns can actually be helpful for learning some new stitches, too.

Here are some great print options for embroidery. Geometric prints and florals are awesome backgrounds for some stitching.

Typically embroidery is done with embroidery floss, but you can also use any type of thread. We rely a lot on DMC embroidery floss - it’s affordable and easy to find.  We’ve also found a fair amount of floss thrift shopping, too.  Let the colors inspire you.  If you’re a knitter or former knitter, then enjoy the fact that one skein of embroidery floss (often plenty for a project) costs around $2.50 in US dollars.  Nice. 

DMC floss has so many colors to choose from. You can definitely find the right color for you.

There are needles that are specifically labeled for embroidery, but you don’t have to limit yourself here. If you have any sewing needles, you can use those as long as the needle is not too large to go through the fabric without leaving a giant hole. Clover makes some affordable embroidery needles in a pack sizes 3-9 with a gold eye.  Easy to thread is important to us - the idea is for an enjoyable experience not twenty minutes of fiddling with thread and needle. We prefer needles with a blunt end and a large eye (typically listed as tapestry needles).

There are so many needle options. You can definitely start with what you have to give embroidery a try.

Needles with a large eye and blunt tip are our preferred needles to use.

Hoops come in so many varieties.  We prefer wood hoops, but over the years we have used plastic hoops, too. If you want to display your finished work in the hoop you may want to explore some of the really lovely hoops in all shapes and sizes and finishes (check etsy for inspiration).  We often turn to very basic hoops costing $4-5 US dollars - sometimes a lot less for a pack of 10.  The hoop is important to achieve even stitching that doesn’t bunch or pull.  Displaying the finished work can be in the hoop, but doesn’t have to be.  If you’re in doubt, start with the inexpensive hoop.  Once you finish the project, you can decide about display later.  

Hoops come in a variety of sizes (and shapes). If you need to pick just one to start with, a 6”-8” hoop is not too big to be hard to hold, but not so small that you need to move your hoop repeatedly.

Truly these are the only four pieces of equipment you really need.  What you stitch can be a simple line drawing (use a pencil right on the fabric), a tracing of an image, a purchased pattern or something improvised from your own imagination.  We always love to see what you’re stitching - tag us on Instagram.

Now it’s time to start stitching.