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Embroidering Clothes

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I was thrilled when, during the pandemic, my daughter wanted to learn how to embroider!  She wanted to learn how to make flowers. So we pulled out all of the supplies, drew some free hand flowers and proceeded. She quickly picked up the techniques and went on to embroider some beautiful masks and denim shirt pockets. This got me to thinking that with all of the upcycling and repurposing that is part of sustaining our earth, why not teach students the skill and art of Embroidering Clothes!  Read on to learn more.

Set

  • The first thing I did was teach my daughter the basics like how to separate the floss, thread the needle and tie a knot. So you want to be sure your students know how to do these things before you go any further.
  • Second, I showed my daughter how to put the fabric into a hoop and do the basic embroidery stitches.  Here are some great resources demonstrating the basic stitches. The first is titled, Embroidered Stitches Guide and the second is titled, HAND EMBROIDERY FOR BEGINNERS || 5 Amazing Flowers Embroidery Tutorial.  If your students don’t want to stitch flowers, they can always stitch other designs such as those found here: 9 Simple Embroidery Designs.
  • After she felt more confident with how to do the stitches, she found a denim shirt. We drew flowers free hand at the top of the pocket so it looked like they were spilling out with a blue fabric pen that disappears with water.  Since denim is pretty sturdy fabric, we did not need to use a stabilizer. If your students are choosing less sturdy fabrics like t-shirts, you may want to suggest using a stabilizer.
  • Ask students to bring in a piece of clothing to embroider on such as a denim shirt, denim jeans, shorts or skirt, baseball cap or t-shirt.  For students who may not have these items, you could always ask for donations from your school staff, check out the lost and found bin or even see if your local thrift store has any good deals. My local thrift store has a “quarter” rack and there are always jeans of some type on it, so it’s easy to provide students with clothing if needed.

Materials

Directions

  • After the design is drawn onto the clothing, and embroidery floss colors are selected, it’s time for students to begin stitching!
  • It’s important for you to be available to troubleshoot if problems arise and they will!  Some will stitch and leave their floss too short to knot properly, some will get their floss all tangled up, some will have trouble threading and/or knotting their floss.
  • Once students have completed their design, have them remove it from the hoop and use a wet cloth to dab away any blue marker lines that remain. Be sure all lines are gone before ironing or they will heat set.
  • When the garment is ironed, have students take pictures of their handiwork before submitting it for a grade.
  • If you have a display case that can hold clothing, these would be fun to feature!  If you have talented students and you need to raise some funds for your class, you might consider having them take orders from staff members or the student body.  That’s what my daughter did with masks.  She figured that since we had to wear them, they might as well be pretty to look at…and they were!

Resources

 

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