Upcycle your wardrobe
- How to embroider on clothes
A version of this article was first published at “Of Small Matters”
Recrafting, upcycling, bedazzling, clothes-pimping - whatever you call it, I’m all for this sustainable fashion movement starting to get a foothold. Ngaio Blackwood is an artist and designer from Napier who works magic with a small piece of thread and a needle. Recently she has been working with teenagers and encouraging them to rethink how they can personalise garments, or give a piece of clothing a new lease on life. Ngaio has generously put together an embroidery tutorial for all of us, at any age. At the bottom you will see a free PDF with some of her beautiful designs to print off and use on any kind of fabric, not just clothing. Thanks Ngaio!
(PDF in the original article over on of Small Matters)
Ngaio in her own words:
When I was a teenager, I spent my time cutting through the cuffs of my jeans and inserting fabric to make little flares. If my jeans wore out, I turned them into skirts. Strangely, I find myself 20 years later encouraging today’s teens to personalise their own clothing at a workshop held at Creative Arts Napier.
Materials needed for embroidery on a denim jacket:
Denim Jacket
Embroidery cotton of your choice
Needle
Hoop
Line Art - you can draw your own line art or trace around an image that you like or search online for free line art. Please be considerate of other artists' work and copyright laws - if in doubt ask permission before copying, even for personal use. (Below is a PDF download for some floral drawings created by me which you are welcome to use.)
Soluble wash-away embroidery medium (either stick-on or pinned to fabric). Brands I’ve used - Legacy “Sol-U-Film Lite” (purchased through Spotlight) and Legacy” Stick-N-Washaway”.
Iron on interfacing (optional) - Interfacing is a strengthening material that has two different sides to it. You iron the shiny side down and it’s a good idea to put a piece of fabric in between the iron and the interfacing just in case you go round it the wrong way. This can be purchased from most craft stores.
Top tip: if embroidery is new to you, practice your stitching on some fabric before you it on your jacket. Head back to the post about creating a sampler and try some of those stitches to find what you like.