How to embroider flowers and lettering by hand: stitches and colours

Planning the design

• Keep the first design simple: three to five flowers, a few leaves and a short word is plenty.
• Sketch it in pencil first and decide which stitch fills which part before you begin.
• Transfer it lightly with a water-soluble or heat-erasable pen, testing the pen on a scrap of your fabric first.

Stitches for flowers

• Lazy daisy petals: five or six detached chain stitches around a centre make the classic simple flower. Finish the centre with French knots.
• Satin stitch petals: smooth, solid petals. Outline in split stitch first for a raised, crisp edge, and keep the stitches angled towards the centre of the flower.
• Woven wheel (spider web) roses: make an odd number of straight spokes, often five, then weave the thread over and under them without going through the fabric. They build into a full, rounded rose.
• French knot clusters: lavender, mimosa, baby's breath or hydrangea heads.
• Long-and-short stitch: a shaded fill for larger petals, where stitches of varying length blend one colour into the next. It takes patience but looks painterly.
• Fly stitch and fishbone stitch for leaves, giving a central vein.
• Stem stitch or backstitch for stalks.

Colour choices for flowers

• Use three shades of one colour for a petal: dark at the base, medium in the middle, light at the tips. It gives depth without extra effort.
• Greens matter: pick two or three greens of different tones for leaves and stems. Slightly blue greens and yellow greens look more natural together than one single green.
• Limit the palette: three or four main colours plus greens look more harmonious than a rainbow.
• Use contrast for centres: a yellow or dark centre makes a flower readable from a distance.
• Check on the fabric: thread looks different on a coloured background, so lay the skeins on your fabric before deciding.

Stitching lettering

• Backstitch: the easiest for clean, readable letters. Use short stitches on curves.
• Split stitch: smooth and slightly textured, good for script lettering.
• Stem stitch: produces flowing, rope-like curves suited to handwriting styles.
• Chain stitch: bold and decorative for thicker letters.
• Satin stitch: for solid block letters. Outline first and keep stitches short.
• Whipped backstitch: work backstitch, then wrap a second thread around it without piercing the fabric, for a smooth raised line.

Tips for neat letters

• Thicken the downstrokes: in a script style, add a second row of stitching to the downstrokes for a hand-lettered look.
• Use fewer strands for small letters: one or two strands keep small letters legible.
• Start and end each letter cleanly: avoid carrying thread between letters across the back, especially on light fabric where it shows through.
• Mind the spacing: mark a baseline lightly before you start so the letters sit level.

Combining the two

Common problems

• Puckered fabric: the stitches are too tight or the fabric is not taut in the hoop.
• Gaps in satin stitch: stitches are too far apart; lay them closer.
• Wobbly letters: stitches are too long for the curve; shorten them.
• Faint markings showing: stitch slightly outside the line or choose a mark that washes out.