THE HAPPY WREN STUDIO

Please click on the link below for a free printable guide to getting started stitching.

A Beginners Guide for Learning Stitching Basics…

Once you’ve read through the guide…here are a few more things to consider.

Once you’ve got your needle ready, you need something to stitch! You will need a pattern that you can trace onto your plain or slightly/lightly patterned cotton fabric. You could use a lightbox (but they are expensive) or you can also try carbon paper (but can be messy and sometimes will not transfer well). My favorite method is to just hold the pattern up to a window that has the sun shining in, then put the fabric (pressed and if needed, lightly starched) over top. Hold firmly and trace with a regular pencil (#2). It will erase if you need it too…when you are tracing onto fabric, it won’t be super dark unless you go over it a couple times. If this is not comfortable for you, don’t worry… a lot of times you can simply lay the fabric over the pattern on a table top. If the fabric is light enough, you’ll see it. You can also use a fine-tip permanent marker, but it is permanent and so unless your stitches cover it completely, you will always see it.

Ok, once you’ve got the pattern traced…put it into the hoop and tighten it up. Now you are ready to begin! You will start from the back side (wrong side of fabric, also the underneath part of the hoop) and pull your needle up through until the knot hits the back. Now begin making your stitches, concentrating not on speed, but on making your stitches of even size and touching (unless doing a stitch like a running stitch that does not touch). Continue on until you reach a curved section. Here you want to be a little more careful and where you may find the most frustration. Suddenly your straight and carefully placed stitches may not “stay” on the line. Take it out and take a breath. When you are on a curve, sometimes you need to shorten your stitches a tiny bit so that you can get around there without trouble. This is where patience comes in. Don’t worry, practice makes perfect. The more you do it, the more you will discover little tricks that will help you along the way.

When you come to the point where you have stitched and you are getting to the end of your thread, leave about 3-4 inches and tie your knot now. How do you do this? Well, return your needle to the back side after making a stitch. You will see a crazy assortment of stitchery on the back. Simply slide the needle under a crazy stitch and pull until you have a little loop of thread, then re-route the needle back through the loop and pull tight. Do this a couple times, it will form a knot. Cut and re-thread your needle, begin all over again.

REMEMBER: This is supposed to be relaxing, but like any new skill it does take time, effort and practice! Don’t give up! Pop all your supplies into a ziplock baggie and take it with you wherever you go. Work on it here and there. You will be surprised at how much you can accomplish in just a few minutes. AND don’t forget! YOU will be your best teacher! You can do it! I know you can! Don’t expect total perfection the first go-round…but I know however it turns out, it will be beautiful!

It might also be advisable to not pick a complicated pattern or something with teeny tiny details. Pick something a bit larger and with minimal detail until you feel ready to tackle something a little harder.

Hope that this helps you find the confidence you need to discover the joy of stitching! Just think of all the possibilites you will have now that you’re learning this wonderful skill. I hope you find many blessings in your future projects…and let me know! Send me pictures of what you are working on…I would love to see your progress!

If anything here is confusing or could be written in better terms, PLEASE let me know. The easier these directions are, the more success beginner stitchers will have…and that’s what it’s all about. Nichole