Many embroidery tutorials start with the most common basic stitches. But there is an even more basic element to embroidery. Things like choosing the right hoop, transferring your design, how many plies to use for a stitch (and what dose that even mean?), and threading a needle are all essentials one must understand before attempting even the most basic stitch. So here are the most basic basics of embroidery.
The Hoop
The hoop is what holds it all together. It keeps your fabric nice a taught so that the stitches lay flat. If your fabric isn't tight in your hoop the stitches can pull and pucker the fabric around them, causing it to be permanently wrinkled. Ideally, you want to choose a hoop large enough to show your entire design at once with a few extra inches of fabric around the edges. However, this is not entirely necessary, if you must use a smaller hoop just use some tissue paper to protect the parts you have already stitched. When I first started embroidering I used the traditional wooden hoops. I like that they aren't plastic and they felt old-timey and fun. But the truth is, the modern plastic hoops are just plain better at holding the fabric tight. Wrapping the inner circle of the wooden hoop with bias tape can help it grip a little better, but I've made the switch to plastic hoops.
The Design
My preferred way to transfer a design is to trace it. There are all kinds of complicated ways to transfer, but I find that often times it is easy enough to just trace right through light colored fabrics. If I'm using a dardker colored fabric I might hold it up to the window. The real issue for me is which kind of pen I want to mark my design in. Air erasable fabric pens are available at any fabric store, they are great if I'm not sure of my design and may want to make changes. They are not so great if I am working on a long term project, since they disappear in about an hour. For longer projects where I am sure of my design, I use .005 pigment liners. These are permanent, but are also fine enough that the thread will hide my lines. I have a black one for dark threads, and a sepia tone for lighter colors.
The Thread
Embroidery thread is called floss, it is made up of six individual threads plied together. A ply is when single strands of fiber are twisted around each other to improve overall strength and stability. You might recognize this term from yarn labels. You can embroider with all six threads together for a bold or chunky look, but most designs call for a variation in thickness created be separating the ply. They are pretty easy to pull apart, but be sure to cut the needed length off the skein first or you'll be in a whole world of tangle. Each of these six threads also contain two tiny plies, but don't attempt to separate those. I usually stitch with two threads unless I'm doing detail work.
The Needle
As you can imagine it is pretty near impossible stick two separate threads through the eye of a needle at once in the normal way. So here is the trick to threading an embroidery needle with multiple threads.
1. Loop the threads around the needle.
2. Pull the thread tight around the needle. There is a little groove running vertical up the eye of the needle to the end, stick your thumbnail in that groove and pinch the loop against your finger.
3. Slide the needle out, keeping the thread pinned down to your finger with your thumbnail.
4. Line up the folded end of the thread with the eye of the needle, keep it pinned down and wiggle the needle against your finger to coax it though.
5. Pull one end all the way through and the needle is threaded!
Those are the basic basics, now you are ready to start stitching. Check back later this week to learn the stitches I used on my latest embroidery, Three Feathers.
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