What hand embroidery supplies and equipment do you need?

So what do you need? Of course fabric or canvas, needles and threads or fibres are essential and these are covered elsewhere on the site. For a trip down memory lane you might like to visit this list of essential hand embroidery supplies and their prices in 'old money' from the 1930's. The page will open up in a new window so you won't loose this one.

So what else do you need to start embroidery? How about scissors, hoops or scroll frames, a lap frame or stand, good lighting and some sort of magnification.

Scissors

I am often surprised by the variety of scissors students bring with them to my classes. Dressmaking shears! Kitchen scissors! Scissors so blunt that they chew the thread!

Do yourself a favour and include a small pair with pointed, sharp blades that cut cleanly amongst your counted cross stitch supplies. This is especially important if you are thinking of trying hardanger or other cutwork techniques.

Oh, and don't let other members of the family "borrow" them. They should be the most "guarded" item of your cross stitch supplies as using them for other things can blunt them.

You may find it useful to have a variety of scissors in your embroidery supplies. The top pair in the photograph are hardanger scissors with angled blades making it easier to cut fabric threads.

Another type that are handy to have around are lift-n-snip scissors. These are designed to make it easy to remove incorrect stitches without damaging the rest of your work.

If you are traveling you may find a Clover Thread Cutter Pendant an ideal alternative to scissors. This novel item contains a sharp circular blade safely inside an attractive case that you can hang around your neck.

A name to be reckoned with in the scissors world is Ginghers. I treasure mine, and no-one else is ever allowed to use them! They are so sharp you have to use them to understand why people love them.

The "Gingher Collector's 3 1/2"" Embroidery Scissors" , shown left, are ideal for the new embroiderer. In fact they may even outlast you! They also do a lovely pewter pair, but they are more expensive.

If you are looking for something a little less grand how about the DMC Embroidery Scissors 3-3/4''-Gold/Silver which are great for all types of embroidery and craft work.

Clicking on the links will take you to Joann where you can purchase these and other scissors, many with free shipping.

Embroidery hoop or frame

A traditional embroidery hoop (also known as a tambour frame) is made of two wooden rings, one smaller than the other. The outer ring at first glance appears to have a gap, positioned underneath what I will call a tensioning device. The inner ring is placed on a firm surface, the fabric laid on top of it, and then the outer ring is pushed down to secure the fabric. The screw on the outside of the larger ring is tightened (or loosened) to allow this ring to fit properly. The tensioning device can be seen in the photograph below.

I like to use a good quality wooden hoop, one that won't splinter or catch the fabric. The plastic hoops, although more expensive, do keep the fabric taut, especially important if you are doing punch embroidery.

I tend to keep 2 or 3 sizes of hoop. in my workbox; 4" for small pieces, 8" for embroidery and a larger one if I am doing some quilting.

If the piece of fabric you want to stitch on is too small to fit into any hoop in your embroidery supplies, don't worry, there is an easy solution. Baste your fabric onto a larger piece, mount the "sandwich" into the hoop then carefully cut away the spare fabric underneath your design area. Be careful not to snip the wrong fabric! When your project is complete just snip the basting stitches to remove it from its temporary backing.

Tip Bind the inner ring of your wooden embroidery hoop with bias binding or a finger bandage to prevent discolouring or snagging your fabric.<

There are many types of needlework frame available. Traditionally used for tapestry or needlepoint are scroll frames with wooden top and bottom roller bars that have webbing strips attached, with side pieces that stretch the fabric. These are available in various sizes. You need bars that are wider than your fabric, the Heavy Duty Oak Scroll Frame 18 inch, shown left, is a good option, being sturdy and good to look at.

Take some strong thread and tack your fabric to each webbing strip. Wind the excess fabric around one, or both, bars to enable you to reach the area you are currently stitching. Most counted thread work is started in the centre so you would wind an equal amount onto both bars. You can also lace the edges of the fabric to the side bars to help keep it under tension.

More modern types of frame can eliminate the step of stitching the fabric to the bars. They have slots in the top and bottom bars. The fabric is laid across the slots and a wooden dowel is pushed through that grips the fabric. Another type consists of 4 pieces of plastic tubing that fit together by means of corner sections. The fabric is laid over the tubing and snap on covers hold it in position.

Whichever type of hoop or frame you keep amongst your embroidery supplies, it is a good idea to loosen the work at the end of a stitching session to avoid over stretching the fabric.

Lap Frame

Lap frames tend to come in two forms; those that have a non-removable hoop and ones with a clamp so that you can use any size hoop or frame.

The Baby Z Lap Frame With Clamp (shown left) has the added advantage of sides that can be adjusted to give the ideal working height.

Or you could try the F.A. Edmunds Stitch N' Scroll Flexible Lap Table Scroll Frame

This handy lap/table frame includes an 8 1/2" x 18" scroll frame set. The side bars can be used with other F.A. Edmunds scroll frames as well. Split rail dowels allow for easy insertion of your work - just roll to advance the pattern. This frame is perfect for cross stitch, needlepoint, embroidery and crewel.

Floor stand

The F.A. Edmunds Adjustable Craft Floor Stand made from American hardwood is an attractive piece of furniture as well as being useful. You can attach your own scroll frame or hoop and the whole thing can be adjusted in many different ways (height, angle and for right or left handed users).

Lighting

I have a big daylight lamp beside my chair in the lounge, which has a circular flourescent tube with a magnifying glass in the centre. It has a clamp at the bottom or can be set into a floor stand. However it is heavy and difficult to move around if I want to sit and stitch somewhere else in the house.

As I run my own kit making business, I have the luxury of a cutting room. This is where all the fabric and threads are cut and packed (in addition all my embroidery supplies are kept here). I use my OTT-LITEŽ TrueColor(TM) Floor Lamp in here to help when cutting evenweave.

When I'm out and about, (or in bed!) I have a little craft light that clamps to my hoop and supplies just enough daylight to my working area. This doesn't disturb anyone else sitting nearby and works from batteries so I can use it anywhere.

Magnifier

I prefer to keep my magnifier closer to my eyes. There are several methods of doing this. You can clip some onto your glasses, if you wear them, but my favourite is something called MagEyes

Tip If you use these, do NOT do what I did. After a stitching session I pushed them back and totally forgot I was wearing them. Whilst out shopping I was wondering why I was getting strange looks from passers by.

Other embroidery supplies to keep in your workbox

Search for more embroidery supplies at limesearch.co.uk
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