Tips & Techniques

Materials: Prewashed sweatshirt or any garment you wish to embellish. I love to do it on suedecloth, velveteen, fleece, etc. It is also wonderful on pillow tops. 6" embroidery hoop, embroidery floss (variegated is great), chalk pencil or water soluble pen or disappearing marker, and a large-eye embroidery needle.

Web layout: I make my templates out of mylar plastic so I can easily trace the design. Lay desired pattern in position on garment and place dots on the garment right next to the ones on the pattern. Make sure that you have the correct number of dots as your pattern shows and space them evenly. I make bigger dots for the ones that represents corner dots. This makes it easier later.

Center the design in the hoop. Thread your needle with 2 strands of embroidery floss that is cut 2 yards long. Knot one end. From the underside, bring the needle up at the right corner dot at the top of the design and take the thread across the top of the fabric and down to the opposite corner (imagine an X and you came up with the needle in the top right of the X and push the needle down in the lower left of the X) and bring the needle back up in the dot just to the left of this last stitch. You will now have a thread across the top and a small basting stitch underneath going towards the left side of the design. Now, go directly across the top of the fabric to where you first started and push the needle down in the dot jut to the right of the first thread and bring the needle up in the dot to the right of THAT stitch. You will be always moving the next dot in a clockwise fashion when bringing the needle up from the backside. Only smallstitches show on the wrong side.

Continue in this manner. In otherwords, you will be constantly making big X's on the top of the fabric. On the bottom of the fabric, you will only have small basting stitches. At the top of the design, you will move your needle to the right and at the bottom of the design, you will move to the left until all dots are used and the web crosses at the center of the design. From the back, I try to make a tiny unnoticeable lock stitch. You have now created the WEB. Rethread to start the weaving. Click HERE to download the Shapes Zip file (12 KB).

Octogon Shape with 8 Petals

Bring your needle up in the very center of the web. The octagon shape will have 8 petals each using 4 lines of web. Starting at the top right corner, choose that thread plus three more to the left of it for the first petal. It may help if you place straight pins in the fabric on each side of those 4 threads so you will remember which ones you will weave over and under. From the right side of those 4 threads, using the neele andthread, wrap those 4 threads by taking the needle under those threads towards the left side and then over thsoe 4 threads FIVE times. This pulls those threads together. This is called "bundling" and it forms a stem for the petal.

Now you will start weaving. Starting from the right side, take your needle under the first thread, over the second, under the third and then weave back again to the opposite side (which means you go OVER that last thread you did, then under, over). Do this until you have about 1/2" woven and then you will ignore the first thread on the left hand side and only weave 3 threads. This will make the petal appear to curve. Weave another 1/2" and drop another thread on the left side and now you only have 2 threads. Make sure you weave under and over these two threads to form a point and when it seems long enough, pull on the tread a little tighter and push the needle down through the fabric just at the end of the point and on the back, make a lockstitch.

Rethread and bring the needle up in the center again and bundle the next four threads to the LEFT of the first petal. Always work from right to left. When all eight petals are complete, you can sew tiny beads at the ends of each web thread. You could also use fabric paint to make dots at the ends of the web.

Four Petals: You could also do this shape having only 4 petals. You would then bundle 8 threads together. This time, weave about 3/4" up the petal and then drop off a thread on EACH SIDE. Go about 1/2" and drop one off each side again. This petal will be straight and end with a point in the center instead of curving.

Square Design: This is 4 petals. You will bundle 10 threads. For the web, go to the top right corner and count the corner thread and 4 threads to the right of it. Place a pin there. Now count 5 threads to the left of the corner and place a pin to help you tell which threads you chose. You will have 10 threads. Bring up the needle in the center of the web and wrap those 10 threads 5 times. Weave from the right to the left the same way but go 1/2", leave off a thread on each side, go another 1/2" and drop one on each side again and continue to point.

Diamond Design: Could be 4 petals or 8 petals. This design will have petals of different lengths because from the center to the top will be long, but from the center to the side will be much shorter. You must judge when to drop threads off depending on whether you have 4 petals or 8 petals. 8 petal: Count the corner dot and 4 more threads to the left to form these petals. That means you will wrap 5 threads. After 1/2" drop the thread on the left, weave for another 1/2" and again drop the left thread. REMEMBER, WHEN YOU DROP ON JUST ONE SIDE, THE PETALS CURVE. The second petal will be shorter. You will choose from 5 threads to the left of the first petal. You see that you will have to judge when to drop the left thread due to length.

4 Petal: This means you bundle 10 threads. Count the corner dot and 4 to the right and 5 to the left. Drop a thread on each side as you weave up as before.

Round Design: Petals will consist of 7 threads one time and only 5 the next time. Drop only the left threads.

Now You Can Start Being Creative On Your Own: Instead of bundling the threads at the center, sometimes I bring the needle up in the center and start weaving under and over the threads from the center for about 1/2". Then I start weaving sections of thread as you did before by deciding how many petals you want. This gives a solid looking center and gives a great look too.