How to Do Embroidery on Dresses

In addition to clothes, sheets, pillowcases and towels can all be embroidered.

Embroidering your dress can turn an old, boring item into a stylish new fashion. Add a couple of cheerful flowers or other designs to liven up a plain piece of clothing or to simply add a girlish flair to your outfit. Embroidery can also be one option to cover up a small stain on a dress or hide a smudge or spill behind a lovely pattern of needlework. This pattern is for embroidering a flower onto your dress. You can embroider a single flower or make a whole chain.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric stabilizer
• Embroidery hoop
• Needle
• Embroidery floss
• Scissors

Instructions

Embroidery Basics

1. Pick out a dress that you would like to embroider. One hundred percent cotton materials work best for embroidery, especially for those still learning. If you pick a stretchy material, you will need to take extra care as you embroider not to overstretch the fabric, causing puckering and an uneven design.

2. Select a design that you would like to embroider and transfer the design onto your dress. Iron-on patterns are ideal for beginners.

3. Secure your fabric stabilizer to your dress using an embroidery hoop. Any section of your dress can be embroidered, depending on your personal taste and preference.

4. Stitch your pattern onto your dress. When your pattern is complete, remove the fabric stabilizer.

Embroidering a Flower

1. Thread your floss on your needle. Place your embroidery hoop over the section that you will be working on.

2. Make an isolated chain stitch. To do this, bring your needle up through the fabric and then back out through the same hole, leaving a loop of thread on the top side of your fabric. Bring your needle back up through the fabric, about a 1/4 inch from where you made the chain stitch. Pull your needle through the loop. Re-insert the needle, right beside where you came up through the fabric. This holds your loop in place.

3. Embroider a second isolated chain stitch next to the other one. Each chain stitch is one flower petal. Continue working in a circle, making chain stitches, until you have all the petals you desire.

4. Bring your needle up through the center of the flower. Work around this center spot, stitching several times, until you have a nice dot for the center of your flower.

5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 to add as many embroidered flowers as you like.

References

• Sublime Stitching; Lazy Bow; Jenny Hart