Turns Out Embroidery is as Easy as They Say

Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap  —  November 6, 2013 — 4 Comments

So I’ve mentioned a few times recently that I wanted to learn embroidery and several of you reassured me that it was really easy, but after I sat down this weekend to learn a few stitches I wasn’t so sure.

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Martha made the chain stitch look so simple but I found it impossible to replicate. Determined to press forward nonetheless, I printed a lowercase letter “t” in a handwritten script font (pacifico, which is free on dafont.com), then traced it onto some fabric with a pencil.

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Then I used the simplest stitch I’d learned, the backstitch, to outline the letter. Bam.

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It only took me about an hour from start to finish while watching TV after Jack was in bed Monday night. I knocked out another two last night, giving me confidence that I can sell these in my shop at a reasonable price (the thing that keeps me away from selling a lot of handmade products is that most of them are too time-consuming to be cost-effective). I’m still working on making my stitches a little neater but as is usually my way I think imperfection is part of the charm.

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All of these practice rounds are going to friends and family, so if you know me personally and you want one let me know! I plan on selling/gifting them stretched in embroidery hoops, but since I wasn’t sure I’d stick with it initially I only bought one hoop. Any tips from you veteran embroiderers on keeping my stitches straight and even, besides practice and paying attention?

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Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap

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4 responses to Turns Out Embroidery is as Easy as They Say

  1. So is that “L” for me? :)

  2. Woo Hoo! Thanks Sis!

  3. Cute! I love a project that you can do on the couch while the TV is going — sometimes it gets lonely at the sewing machine. I might give this a shot, maybe do some flour sack dish towels for Christmas presents.

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