Most individuals think to have perfect embroidery on a piece of fabric, you have to own a big embroidery machine. However, if you lack an embroidery machine, you don’t need to do it by hand either. While an embroidery machine is suitable for embroidery, you can still do it with your regular sewing machine. I am going to lead you through the procedure on how to embroider with a sewing machine.
Read till the end…..
Tools Required for Embroidering With a Machine
What do you need for embroidery? Before getting to work, it is wise to have the complete set of tools that you will require. This will save you time and mistakes that you can make without having the right set of tools.
Below are the essential tools you will require to embroider with a sewing machine.
Stabilizer
This is one of the essential tools to keep with you before you begin embroidering on a sewing machine. With a stabilizer, you will have no trouble with the thread and the fabric constantly getting stuck in the feed dogs.
There are a lot of stabilizer options to choose from. Commonly used stabilizer options include tear-away, cut-away, and wash-away stabilizers.
Embroidery Hoop
An embroidery hoop is an excellent tool to hold the fabric taut. This tool is also essential for preventing the fabric taut from moving in unwanted directions.
In addition to that, an embroidery hoop will give you more control of your embroidering task as you can easily move it in the direction you want.
Embroidery Scissors
Some individuals may prefer using any type of scissors. However, getting the embroidery scissors can do the job better.
Embroidery scissors are small and sharp, giving you the convenience of removing the tiny threads on your done embroidery to make your work look smart.
Quilting Foot
This is another tool that you will need in doing your project. The quilted foot allows you to move your fabric as per your needs.
In addition, the tool prevents accidents with the needle by keeping your fingers away from it.
Special Embroidery Needles
Embroidery requires a special needle. Like you will adjust needles to match your choice of fabric, consider changing the needle that works best for embroidery.
With embroidery, you will need smaller and sharper needles for lightweight fabric and larger needles for heavy fabric.
Embroidery Thread
Can you embroider with sewing thread? Getting the best quality thread will improve the results. Instead of using the sewing thread, consider getting embroidery thread for this purpose.
Embroidery thread is usually made from 2 ply threads, while the sewing thread is made from 3 ply threads. This makes the embroidery thread thinner and smoother than the sewing threads, thus offering the best results.
If you can’t get the embroidery thread, you can opt for the stronger sewing threads, such as cotton or polyester threads. In this case, you will have to lower the stitching when using the sewing thread.
Guide on How to Embroider with a Sewing Machine
Now that you got a clue about the essentials in the embroidery project, it is time to learn how to embroider with a sewing machine.
This step-by-step guide is easy to follow for a beginner.
Material Required
- Cotton fabric
- Fabric maker
- Free motion foot
- Needle and a thread
- Seam ripper
- Embroidery design
- Embroidery hoop
- Embroidery backing
- Embroidery scissors
- Pressing iron
Freehand Embroidery on a Sewing Machine
The steps below are ideal for individuals whose machines have no stitches. However, freehand embroidery might also be your perfect option if you have to fill designs similar to the embroidery machines.
Here are simple steps on how to embroider with a sewing machine.
STEP 1: Get The Template
Before you set your hands-on work, ensure you have a guiding model. There are various embroidery designs using sewing machine that you can consider.
For a start, you can opt for simple designs. You might go for a printed template or get a piece of paper having your customized sketches.
Besides, you might also choose to draw on the fabric using a fabric marker.
STEP 2: Prepare Your Fabric
After you are sure of the template you are going to use, transfer the preferred design onto the right side of your fabric.
Then add backing appropriately. For best results, ensure the backing covers the whole design.
Position the hoop on the desired location and hold it in place using pins. Leave ample room between where you position the pins and the edge of the design, letters, or drawing that you want to embroider.
If you have a hoop, check out the next step on how to set it up.
STEP 3: Set up the Embroidery Hoop
Put your fabric in the embroidery hoop. Setting the embroidery hoop might pose a challenge to beginners learning how to embroider with a sewing machine.
In most cases, individuals make mistakes in positioning the fabric wrongly on the hoop. The correct setting involves starting with the inner hoop, fabric wrong side up, and then outer hoop.
With this setup, you should see the right side of the fabric inside the hoop. Ensure you set the design at the center of the hoop to give you enough room for embroidering in the hoop.
Also, ensure you get a hoop with a larger size than your design. If you find that the design is still larger, you can work in small sections.
But remember to set the fabric right in the hoop every time you change the section to embroider on your fabric.
STEP 4: Keep Your Sewing Machine Ready for the Task
Here is where all the trick lies. You can easily know how to embroider with a regular sewing machine once you know how to set it up.
With a regular sewing machine, you can change a few things for special projects. Now that you need to embroider, there are a few things to change and put right.
First, remove the machine’s old presser foot. Also, remove the needle to give you more freedom of work. Then install the free motion foot.
Various sewing machines have different configurations. You can check on your sewing machine manual.
Put an embroidery needle in place and thread it. Next, check for a button on your machine that pushes the feed dog down and press it.
Some machines like the rudimentary singer machine may lack one. If yours has no that switch to push the feed dogs down, you can use a darning plate to act as an intermediary preventing the feed dogs from touching the fabric.
In this case, install the darning plate before fixing the free motion foot, putting the needle in place, and threading it.
Set the machine on a straight stitch. You can also get a piece of fabric and use it in testing the length and the width. You can play with this fabric until you achieve the desired settings.
After you are sure of the length and width on a straight stitch, record the settings on a piece of paper. Then, repeat the process for a zigzag stitch.
STEP 5: Embroider Your Favorite Design
Once your machine is set, lift the presser foot as high as possible and place the embroidery hoop below the needle. Ensure the right side of the fabric is up with the hoop touching the plate with the wrong side.
Lower the foot and then the needle using the sewing machine wheel. Ensure it goes lower to the point of catching the bobbin thread. Continue to spin the wheel till the needle is above your fabric. Then use the scissors to push the thread down to ensure it is under the presser foot.
At this point, you can now again lower the needle and begin sewing. Start with a straight stitch before changing to a zigzag stitch. Do it carefully, moving the hoop slowly under the needle.
Are you finding the zigzag stitch a problem? If yes, then this is your trick. You will find it easy to learn how to embroider with a sewing machine with straightforward tips.
To solve the tricky process and simplify it, calculate the zigzag line’s width, allowing the dense stitches to extend beyond the border.
Also, allow the needle to pass through tightly spaced lines. When you move your fabric quickly when you do an ordinary stitching task, you will reduce the density of the zigzag pattern.
Here, you should avoid tugging your fabric excessively. If you have a bigger design that you need to work out in turns, it is recommended to leave a small piece of thread that you can cover in the proceeding stitch.
This way, you can increase the thickness of the stitching.
STEP 6: Hide the Thread Ends
How to embroider with a sewing machine will also have to do with how you address the thread ends. If you are good with smoothing out the edges of your design, you can use backstitching to conceal the thread ends perfectly.
When using regular threads, you can consider using double knots to secure the ends. No matter the method you use to hide the thread ends, you should be careful to leave an overall pleasing appearance of your design.
STEP 7: Conclude Your Work
Once you finish embroidering your design, it is time to streamline your work. First, remove the backing with an appropriate method, depending on the type of stabilizer you used.
Next, use your embroidery scissors to remove the extra or hanging threads. Then use the presser iron on steam to press your fabric on the wrong side.
Embroidering Using an Embroidery Stitch
using embroidery stitch is another easy way of how to embroider with a sewing machine you can find in the market today. Some sewing machines come with embroidery stitches.
In this case, it is easier to embroider your fabric using the stitches. In this case, refer to your sewing machine’s manual to learn how to use these embroidery stitches.
Nevertheless, you don’t need the expertise to tell how to embroider with a sewing machine having preset stitches.
With this, you only need to hold the hoop and direct the stitches in the required direction. With some modern machines, you can even use the start/stop button, guide the stitch in the direction required and watch the machine do the task.
Tips On Machine Embroidery
You might need to get simple knowledge from an experienced sewist showing you how to embroider with a sewing machine when you are a beginner.
These tips could help you grasp the content better and help you seamlessly complete your first embroidery project using a regular sewing machine.
- Don’t rush to bigger projects. Instead, you should focus on small and straightforward projects when starting. This way, you can quickly master the process before tackling challenging projects. Simple projects will also lead you through the basics of embroidery.
- Get a piece of fabric and use it to test the length and width of the stitch till you find the perfect one.
- Avoid shaking your hands while sewing. Also, consider sewing slowly to avoid making embroidering your design wrongly.
- If you have problems seeing the design details clearly, you can use a magnifier.
- It is recommended to use an embroidery hoop when learning how to embroider with a sewing machine. This way, you can easily hold the fabric taut, give you more control and help you direct the stitches in the desired direction.
- You may consider getting some accessories such as the free motion foot and a straight stitch foot. Although this is common to the embroidery experts, beginners learning how to embroider with a sewing machine for the first time can also follow the detailed but straightforward procedure above.
Conclusion
Now that you have all information regarding embroidery with a sewing machine gathered for you in one piece of article, can you embroider with a sewing machine? Indeed, it is the action that can tell.
You might get overwhelmed with your first project. However, consider using this article as your manual on how to embroider with a sewing machine to help you tackle your projects easily.
Recommended Readings:
Best Embroidery Machine for Beginners – Our top 6 picks in 2022
How to Sew Leather with a Machine
How To Use Embroidery Machine – An Ultimate Guide
