*Contains gifted items
It looks like needlework is having a bit of a revival at the moment and it’s something that I for one am delighted to see. I was first introduced to sewing and embroidery by grandma when I was younger and eventually learnt the craft myself, starting off with simple cross stitch designs then slowly evolving to more intricate projects as I got older. These days, most of my craft projects involve embroidery, which I picked back up recently after a bit of a hiatus.
If you’re new to embroidery, I’ve put together some tips to help you along:
The beauty of embroidery is that you can design on whatever fabric you like, even items of clothing or tote bags. When I’m creating hoop art, I like to to use linen, calico or cotton fabrics as I find them easiest to work with and like the end result.
You’re looking for a needle size that will comfortably pass back and forth through the fabric without stretching. They come in a massive range of sizes but I’d suggest sticking to either a 7, 8 or 9 as the long ‘eye’ means they’re easier to thread yet sharp enough to tackle most fabrics.
The majority of designs are stitched with stranded embroidery thread. These threads are made up of six strands and can be separated according to the design you’re working on, usually into three. To split the strands, cut a length of the thread, hold one end taut while you carefully pull as many strands as you need away.
I use an embroidery hoop to keep the fabric taut while I stitch and it also helps to prevent the stitches from becoming distorted. Like needles, hoops come in a variety of sizes, and can even be used to mount work afterwards. I tend to stick to either a 6″ or 7″ for most designs.
A good pair of scissors are invaluable when working with threads. I used my kitchen scissors before buying specific needlework ones and regretted it instantly when I nicked the fabric due to them being too clunky, undoing all of my hard work. Keep them sharp and use them to cut the ends of threads when you’re finished stitching.
It’s much easier to see what you’re doing, prevent eye strain and get an accurate idea of colours when you sew in daylight so I’d recommend finding a comfy spot as close to the window as you can.
If this is all seeming a bit intense, you can buy kits which have pre-printed designs and contain most things you need to get started straight away.
There will inevitably be times when you mess up but the good news is that most missteps can be sorted with an unpicking tool and a little bit of patience. Start off small and try to master just a few key stitches such a backstitch, running stitch, stem stitch and French knots before moving on to more complex ones. I’m very much a visual learner so found these online video tutorials really helpful.
The beauty of embroidery is that it gives you loads of creative freedom to make something entirely unique. You can play around with different combinations of colours, shapes and stitches; there are no rules. Pinterest is a gold mine of inspiration or you can find loads of free pattern downloads here. If you’d like to keep things a bit more simple, you can find a brilliant range of embroidery kits from Love Crafts here, which are great for both beginners and those with a little more experience.
I would choose the hare please.
I’d love any of them but I would choose the squirrel I think
They are so cute but love the squirrel, we feed a lot of them and love watching them so this would be lovely!
The hare is fab xx
Wildwood is a lovely design!
The squirrel is cute 🥰
The squirrel is adorable
I would choose the squirrel
I would love the squirrel please.
Get plenty of squirrels in my garden so think it would have to be that one.
I would choose the squirrel kit.
The squirrel
I love the hare (although the wildwood is great too)
I would love the squirrel
The Wildwood but love them all
I’d love the squirrel!
I’d love to try my hand at embroidery. These kits look perfect for a beginner! I’d choose the squirrel one first.
id choose the hare
I love the Wildwood – all the different colours and stitches!
Squirrel
Wild wood, please 🌳
The beautiful SQUIRREL please
Squirrel please
Difficult choice but I think I would choose the wildwood if lucky enough to win
Tough choice but I think I would pick the hare
The Squirrel
The squirrel is really adorable but I think I would go with the Wildwood one. This looks so much fun to do.
I’d like to try the Widwood one I think
Squirrel is my favourite!
Would love the Wild Wood one
I would choose the squirrel.
That squirrel is so cute!
I love the squirrel!
I love the squirel, thanks for the chance
They are all lovely but I like the Wildwood one best.
I think i would pick the squirrel
I would pick the squirrel, it’s very cute
I would choose the hare
Squirrel is so adorable!
I love these! I’d probably choose the Wildwood, although it’s a tough choice.
I love the hare kit 🐰 I’ve always wanted to learn to embroider as I enjoy cross stitching so this would be perfect!
I would love the squirrel one! I really enjoy doing cross stitch, so would love to learn how to do embroidery too!
Squirrel, its very cute!
I would choose Squirrel
I’d choose the squirrel as it’s so cute
The squirrel is my favourite
How lovely. Perfect for lockdown as a newbie. Thank you for the opportunity
I would choose the wildwood thank you
I’d love to have a go at the squirrel! I’ve never done one of these before but I’d love to try!
I love Wildwood
I would choose the squirrel as it is just so blumming cute – it’s a very tough choice though!
They are all lovely. I would pick the Wildwood design.
They are all lovely. I’d probably go for wildwood, but the squirrel is nice too
I think I would choose either the squirrel or the Wildwood.
I would like the Hare!
Such a helpful guide for a beginner
They’re all just beautiful, but Squirrel would be fab!
Love the squirrel x
Wildwood looks lovely for a beginner like me. Thanks for your post!
I would choose the hare.
I would love squirrel please
Wildwood please
I love the squirrel best!
I would like the wildwood please
I would love the hare please!
Squirrel
The wildwood kit please.
i would choose the hare x
Wildwood would be lovely thanks
the squirrel please and thank you if l am the lucky winner
I would choose the hare please
I’d choose the Wildwood kit
Would definitely love the Squirrel
I would choose squirrel.
The squirrel for sure, Its so cute!
hare
They’re all lovely but I would probably go for Wildwood.