Learn embroidery on Steemit

When I told everyone I wanted to start embroidering, they thought it was a joke. Really, they couldn’t see the point on learning something that machines do it perfectly fine. But I couldn't help it, it caught my eye right away.

It gave me the same sense of expression as painting once did and there is no good reason why a needle can’t be considered an artistic implement just like the brush.

Let’s start with the basics!

---

What’s embroidery?

Well, it's basically the art of decorating fabric with stiches while using a needle and a threat but if you want a more professional definition:

Embroidery is the art of adding to the surface of texture a representation of an object through the medium of a threaded needle.

From the length of the stitch, the angle in which the needle enters the fabric to even the colors you choose, it all differs a lot from person to person. And even within the same artist. That's one of the things I love the most about embroidery, how forgiving the art actually is. Sure, the are a ton of rules to follow but there is no such thing as a perfect stich. You can learn to do it the “right” way but everyone will make it a little bit diferent.

---

Tools & Materials

The thing about embroidery is that you don’t really need that much to start. Just an embroidery hoop, fabric of your choice, scissors, a threated needle and you are good to go. And it’s not like they are hard to find either, all of these things are found in any craft store and are super budget friendly.

Embroidery Thread

You might be surprised to know there are actually many, many types of embroidery thread. To name some there's pearl cotton ones, stranded and non-divisible ones, and then ones made out of satin, silk, linen, wool, you get the idea. Each has a unique appearance and texture therefore, they provide different effects on your embroidery.

And luckily, they come in almost every color you can possibly imagine. I mean it. But just a heads up, embroidery threads can be your best friend and your worst enemy if you let them. They knot and just go insanely tangled if you let them unattended.

Needles

Again, you’ll find endless types of needles and you will wonder if it has always been this way. And yeah, it has.

The length, sharpness and size of the needle will vary depending on the type of work you’ll be doing. Personally, I think chenille needles are the best for any embroidery work in general since their sharp points help enter the needle more easily and it’s suitable for most fabrics.

Fabrics & Patterns

Any fabric does the trick, even your own existing clothing. However, fabrics with lots of stretch are more difficult to work with. Not impossible, though!

I prefer linen, or linen looking fabrics, although cotton works just fine and so does felt. Again, it depends on the kind of work you’ll be doing.

I’m not a big fan of iron-on transfers since I prefer just drawing the pattern directly to the fabric or transfering using my iPad or taping the design and pattern onto a window during the day, so fabrics such as linen or cotton make it the drawing part a whole lot easier than, for instance, felt.

Basic Stitches

With your design ready to be embroidered in the hoop, you are ready to start stiching!
You are probably wonder what to do next, though. But trust me, it's not as tough as you might think.

Backstich

Widely used for outlining objects or text even since it creates a steady, continuous line. Plus, it’s really easy to learn.

You start simply by coming up through the fabric, following the line of your design and then back down through the fabric once more. You come through the fabric again, only this time you leave about a stitch length ahead of your previous stitch and back down into its hole. You repeat as many times as you need, keeping in mind that stitches should all keep an uniforming.

Long & Short Stitch

My favorite method to “paint” my embroidery designs is through the long & short stitch. Basically, as the name already explains it, it means you create long and short stitches following no pattern whatsoever to blend them with the next row of stitches. You can, however, do it more systematically but I personally prefer a more natural look. Repeat as many times as you need to.

It’s safe to say that the difficulty of your embroidery work will depend on your design, whether you go for something simple or one more advanced, the basics apply the same to all.

And just so you know, the Steemit logo is actually a pretty simple one.

Whether it's just for fun or you are looking for starting your own business, embroidery is a great way to challenge your creativity and excite your imagination while developing skills and relaxing your mind at the same time

I hope you give it a chance!

---

Pictures were all taken by me using a Canon Rebel T3i with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens kit.

---

If you liked this mini-tutorial and want to learn more about embroidery, please consider resteeming this post and commenting below what would you like to see in the next post.

Keep on steeming!