Embroidery is a truly satisfying hobby and a wonderful way to personalise your garments and other sewing creations. An additional pattern sewn over a beloved item can give it a new lease of life – and it’s incredibly fun to do, as well!

If you’re looking to get into embroidery, you’ve come to the right place. This helpful guide will walk you through everything you need to know when starting with embroidery and how to use an embroidery machine.

The first distinction to make when starting with embroidery is the difference between doing it by machine and by hand. 

Hand embroidery is a much slower process that is, of course, entirely manual; you stitch the pattern into fabric yourself, creating a singular pattern in your unique style.

Machine embroidery, meanwhile, is much more automated, giving you a predictable but beautifully stitched pattern. Don’t let the fact that it’s automated fool you, though; it’s still great fun seeing your pattern come together.

Ensure you’re buying the best quality thread for your embroidery by choosing thread from reputable brands and made from the right material. 

Bobbin thread is also important for embroidery – choose a thread that’s lighter than your embroidery thread and consult the machine’s manual for the recommended type to use.

Embroidery machines work using pre-designed patterns that are fed into the machine via a computer program. The exact process often varies by machine but is much simpler to execute in practice once you’ve got the hang of it.

From here, the machine will stitch the pattern exactly as the design dictates, giving you the same pattern every time – assuming you follow the right setup procedure. The type of stitching that a machine does is also unique and typically impossible to replicate by hand.

Among other things, it’s a fantastic way to make professionally done Christmas gifts for your loved ones in a short space of time!

When starting, you’ll have the fun task of choosing the right embroidery machine if you haven’t got one already. 

Ready to kickstart your embroidery journey? Browse embroidery machines at Sewing Direct and find the perfect one for you.