oh i GOT you (this is literally my life)
i like to think of embroidery as drawing with thread. basically you take your fabric, put it in a hoop so it stays nice and tight, sketch out your design and then stitch it out using various types of stitches.
these are a few types of stitches that you can do. i like to use a back stitch or a split stitch (not pictured here) for outlines and a satin stitch to fill it in, though you don’t have to do any outlines, that’s just my personal style. (also this is not my image lol i found it on pinterest)
here are a few of my pieces. you can do anything from words to outlines to colored in pictures. you can do the smallest, simplest stuff or huge, complex pieces. you can make display pieces in hoops like shown above or you can add tiny details to things you already have like clothing. the world is your oyster!
some supplies you’ll want to get started:
thread ofc (also called floss)
cloth and/or the item you want to embroider on
hoops of any size (i would go bigger for display pieces and smaller for clothing details
scissors (preferably fabric scissors)
you can find all of this stuff at michael’s, and it’s all relatively cheap which is pretty nice :]
the nice thing about embroidery is that you can kind of jump right into it. if you’d like to do some practice stitches you are totally welcome to do so but if you want to then go ahead and sketch out your design. you can either trace or freehand it depending on your drawing ability
i would recommend going on pinterest or youtube and looking at a few videos of different types of stitches that you want to try. you can literally do anything depending on what you think will look good for your piece
you can use embroidery to customize your clothing!! i made the grey hoodie for a friend and the brown hoodie and jeans (though the jeans aren’t finished) for myself. it’s one of my favorite things to do and the result is always fantastic.
another nice thing about embroidery is that it’s pretty portable. it’s a bit more difficult when working with clothing, but display pieces are so small and easy to carry around. i bring it basically everywhere lol but tbf i am unnaturally obsessed with it 💀
moral of the story is that embroidery looks fairly complicated, but it’s really quite easy!!! you can start as soon as you have the materials in front of you. it also doesn’t have to be perfect!! any mistakes are either unnoticeable, easily reversible, or sometimes even add to your piece. anyone can do it! good luck and have fun!! :]
