embroidery for dummies

[img]images/smiley_icons/wavey.gif[/img] <font color="royalblue">Hello all. I am brand new to the world of embroidery. So new that I do not know where to start, not really. I would like to learn to embroider on small articles of clothing for my children. Things like their name or a cute phrase on their socks, or personalizing doll's clothes, that kind of thing. Unfortunately the sock is already assembled and so I have to ask if its possible for me to embroider with a standard machine or should I see about purchasing that hand held stitch punch? Can anyone advise me?



Thank you so much</font>.

[img]images/smiley_icons/wavey.gif[/img] Hi, Shannon! Welcome to the group! [img]images/smiley_icons/friends.gif[/img] I hope you can take a few minutes to tell us a little about yourself on our Introductions Board so the rest of the community can greet you!

I wouldn't suggest that a newbie to embroidery start off with a stretchy item like socks. A more stable fabric, preferably without pleats, will be less frustrating to you when you're just starting out.

You might want to consider decorating the bottom of pant legs and skirts. Pockets look really cute, too. If your children don't use their pockets, you could sew through all layers of the fabric. It's a great look for toddlers. I have a friend who did it on the bib pocket of one of her jumpers. (What woman uses that pocket, anyway?!)

Apparently you're going to be using a machine for your embroidery. It should have a free arm that you can fit pants or sleeves over. Smaller items, of course, are going to be difficult to place in the machine embroidery hoop. You may want to play around with placing tear-away stabilizer in the hoop and fastening your small item to the stabilizer. Just remember to fold the item in a way that your needle will catch only the fabric that you want to embellish.

I hope this helps. If not or if you have other questions, just come back here and yell at us. One or more of us will come running!

Hello [img]images/smiley_icons/wavey.gif[/img] and thank you for the greeting Grinnin Gramma. [img]images/smiley_icons/flowers.gif[/img] My name is Shannon and I am living here in Canada. I am an &quot;Americanadian&quot; (thanks to my patriotic Mom, a Jersey girl). My husband is British, born and bred in Blighty. I have two daughters who are interested in having phrases on everything! That and beads. Girls cannot get enough of beading can they.



I feel only slightly discouraged by the advice that I should start out with something more simple than embroidery. I'm keen to learn. Would something called the &quot;hoop-it-all&quot; be of much help to me on a machine or with the embroider punch or is my thinking way off base?



Shannon

Toronto

Shannon, thanks for the bit of bio! Sounds like your girls are each &quot;all girl&quot;! The glitzier the better, right?!

I didn't mean to be discouraging. I only meant that you may find it difficult to make your embroidery look good on stretchy fabrics like sock tops and that you may want to start with some other garment. Although sweatshirts and t-shirts stretch, they are much easier to work with than super-stretchy sock tops.

After you finish embroidering your item, you can still &quot;glam&quot; it up a bit more with your beading. For example, stitch some seed beads in the middle of a flower and/or around the edges for some additional texture and &quot;bling&quot;. You're going to have a lot of fun sprucing up their things! Let us know how you're coming along and be sure to post a pic or two or three and share your finished project with us! [img]images/smiley_icons/smile.gif[/img]