How to Embroider Letters on a Shirt With a Sewing Machine

You can perform free motion embroidery on a sewing machine with a specialized foot.

If you've ever had a shirt you wanted to personalize, either for yourself or as a gift, but you didn't want to pay to have it done by a seamstress, know that such tasks are easy with a sewing machine, a few embroidery items and a little creativity for you to monogram a shirt by embroidering letters, using free hand embroidery techniques on your sewing machine.

Things You'll Need

• Sewing machine
• Shirt
• Embroidery hoop
• Water-soluble stabilizer
• Scissors
• Embroidery thread
• Embroidery needle
• Lukewarm water

Instructions

Prepare the Fabric

1. Draw or trace the desired lettering on a water-soluble stabilizer. A stabilizer is important because it steadies the fabric so that it doesn't move around during embroidery process, which is especially useful when working with stretchy fabrics.

2. Position the lettering on the stabilizer onto the desired location on top of the fabric.

3. Tighten and stabilize the work area by positioning the two piece embroidery hoop over the area where the lettering is located. To do this, place the plastic or wooden hoop frame under the fabric and stabilizer.

4. Open the metal frame by pressing the clamp in, then place it directly over the underlying frame, fabric and stabilizer. Release the clamp and the work area should be tight and smooth. The lettering traced on the stabilizer should be on top and visible inside the hoop. Make sure that the amount of stabilizer cut is large enough to fit underneath the hoop.

Prepare the Sewing Machine

1. Remove the foot from the sewing machine and attach a free motion embroidery foot. Attach an embroidery needle to the sewing machine, because the embroidery thread needs a hole large enough to prevent thread breakage.

2. Disable the transporter so that it the fabric does not move forward while sewing. Typically, the transporter can be disabled by opening a panel toward the bottom of the sewing machine and pulling down on a lever, but it is advisable to consult the machine's manual to be sure.

3. Adjust the tension level to one or two. Select a straight stitch and choose the desired width.

Begin the Embroidery

1. Place the hoop under the needle and position it where the traced lettering on the stabilizer is located. Lower the presser bar lifter.

2. Using a straight stitch setting, manually lift the needle up and down once and then take it up again. Lift the presser bar and pull the loose thread out and away from the work area so it doesn't get in the way of embroidering.

3. Hold the hoop with steady hands and guide the hoop along the lettering outline while pressing and controlling speed with the foot pedal. It is advisable to perform work at a moderate to fast speed.

4. Change the stitching to a zigzag stitch, select the desired width and fill in the inside of the lettering. You can use an alternate stitch pattern or randomly doodle to fill in the lettering. Try to maintain a consistent, steady speed.

5. Stop periodically to make sure that the fabric isn’t getting caught. Continue until you attain the desired results.

Finishing Touches

1. Remove the hoop and cut away the excess stabilizer. Soak the shirt in lukewarm water until the water-soluble stabilizer has dissolved.

2. Cut away the excess thread.

3. Dry the shirt and admire the results.

Tips & Warnings

• Pre-wash the fabric before starting the process. The fabric may pucker when the stabilizer is soaked off or during the washing cycle.

• Practice on spare fabric before you start the project, so that you are comfortable and familiar with the steps, steadiness, and speed necessary to get the desired results.

References

• YouTube: How To Do Free Hand Machine Embroidery
• Threads Magazine: Making Sense of Stabilizers

Resources

• YouTube: Machine Embroidery