Fabric Decoration with Embroidery
Senior 2 · Fine Arts
Fabric Decoration with Embroidery
Lesson 2 of 5
20 min
The same design can look professional or messy depending on what it is stitched on and with. Fabric that stretches makes stitches wander; thread that is too thick for the needle frays; fabric held loosely puckers. Choosing the right fabric, thread and tools is the first skill of embroidery, and it costs very little: most of what you need is already in a household sewing box.
For your first pieces, choose a firm, closely woven, non-stretchy fabric with a smooth surface. Remember from the weaving unit that woven cloth has warp threads running along its length and weft threads running across. This is the grain of the fabric. Cloth cut along the grain holds its shape; pulled diagonally, on the bias, it stretches.
| Fabric | Suitable? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Plain cotton or calico | Yes, the best choice for beginners | Firm, cheap, easy to mark and to wash |
| Kitenge (wax-print cotton) | Yes, with care | Firm and bright, but a busy print can hide your stitches: stitch on a plainer area or let the design follow the print |
| Linen | Yes | Firm and strong; traditional for embroidery |
| Stretchy T-shirt knit | No, not for beginners | Stretches as you stitch, so the work puckers |
| Thin, slippery synthetics | No | Slide in the hoop and fray easily |
| Towelling | No | The loops swallow the stitches |
Wash and iron cotton fabric before you start: cotton can shrink the first time it is washed, and it is better that it shrinks before it is stitched.
Mugisha buys one 8 m skein of stranded cotton. He will stitch with 2 strands at a time. A skein has 6 strands, so it splits into 6 ÷ 2 = 3 bundles of 2 strands, each 8 m long: 3 × 8 = 24 m of working thread. In 45 cm lengths, that is 24 ÷ 0.45 ≈ 53 lengths, plenty for a border on a table mat.
Keep needles and pins in a pincushion, never in your mouth or clothes. Count them out at the start of the lesson and back in at the end.
This household work box holds most of what you need: a packet of needles, sharp orange-handled scissors, spools of thread in many colours and a box of pins. Which items would you use for embroidery, and which are really for plain sewing?
Here green cotton is held drum-tight in a white hoop, with the grain running straight. The stitches are feather stitch, a decorative outline stitch that branches to each side.
Tip
Firm fabric, tight hoop, short thread. Three habits prevent most beginners' problems: choose firm woven cotton, keep it drum-tight in the hoop with the inner ring underneath, and cut the thread no longer than about 45 cm.
Ishimwe wants to embroider his name on a stretchy sports T-shirt for his first project. What would you advise?
Solution: knit fabric stretches as you stitch, so the letters would pucker and distort. Practise first on firm cotton; later, stitch on a knit only with a stabiliser backing.
How many strands are there in stranded embroidery cotton, and how many would you use for a fine outline?
Solution: six strands; use 2 or 3 for a fine outline.
Which ring of the hoop goes under the fabric?
Solution: the inner ring, the one without the screw. The outer ring, with the screw, is pressed down over it from above.
From a 6 m length of 6-strand cotton, how much 3-strand thread can you get?
Solution: 6 ÷ 3 = 2 bundles, each 6 m long, so 12 m.
Remember
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
