Hand embroidery for beginners: what you need and how to start

The basic kit

• An embroidery hoop: two rings that clamp the fabric tight. Wooden and plastic hoops both work. A size between about 10 and 18 cm is comfortable to hold for most beginners.
• Fabric: a medium-weight, tightly woven cotton or linen, or a cotton-linen blend. Avoid stretchy knits and very loose weaves until you have some practice.
• Stranded cotton (embroidery floss): the standard thread for surface embroidery. Each length is made of six fine strands twisted together, which you separate and use in groups.
• Embroidery needles: often sold as crewel needles, with a sharp point and a long eye that is easy to thread with several strands. A mixed pack lets you try different sizes.
• Small sharp scissors for thread.
• A way to mark the design: a water-soluble fabric pen, a heat-erasable pen, a fine pencil or transfer paper.

Setting fabric in a hoop

1. Loosen the screw and separate the two rings.
2. Lay the inner ring on the table, place the fabric over it, then press the outer ring down on top.
3. Gently pull the fabric taut all round, like a drum, then tighten the screw.
4. Keep the grain of the fabric straight; a distorted weave gives a distorted design.

Transferring a pattern

• Tracing with light: tape the pattern to a window or a light box, tape the fabric over it and trace with a water-soluble pen or pencil. This works best on light, thin fabrics.
• Water-soluble pens: marks wash out with water. Test on a scrap first and avoid ironing the fabric before the marks are gone.
• Heat-erasable pens: marks vanish with heat from an iron or hairdryer. Be aware that the ink can reappear in very cold conditions and may leave faint ghost lines on some fabrics, so test first.
• Transfer paper: a coloured carbon-type sheet; you trace over the pattern on top of it.
• Water-soluble stabiliser: print or trace the design on to a sheet that you stick to the fabric, stitch through it and then dissolve it in water. Good for dark fabrics.
• Iron-on transfer pens or printed transfers: the marks are usually permanent, so they must be completely covered with stitching.

Your first session

1. Cut a length of floss about the length of your forearm. Longer threads tangle and wear out.
2. Separate two or three strands for most outline work.
3. Thread the needle and start without a large knot if you can (see the floss guide), or with a small knot for a first practice piece.
4. Work a few lines of backstitch and stem stitch along your marked lines.
5. Try filling a small shape with satin stitch and adding French knots.

Tips that help beginners

• Keep your stitches a similar length; regularity matters more than size.
• Do not pull too tight, or the fabric puckers.
• Let the needle hang free from time to time so the thread untwists.
• Avoid carrying thread long distances across the back of light fabric; it can show through.

A good first project