This little note will be interesting for amateur embroiderers.
How can you make your work neat, professional and convenient?
Here are basic criteria that you should follow to achieve perfection in this laborious and attention-consuming business.
- The most important thing is not to have knots. Otherwise, the back side will be messy and it may even be difficult to push the needle through, because it will get in the knots. The easiest way is to leave a small tail and secure it with subsequent stitches. After a fragment is completed, when you need to cut a thread, pull the needle through nearby stitches on the back (better under the stitches of the same colour).
- Good canvas tension. If canvas is well stretched, stitches are more even, there is no extra thread tension or vice versa stitches due to weak tension. Tension of fabric or canvas should be monitored regularly (every two days if an embroidery is big), since hoops or frames loosen gradually, and they need to be tightened.
- All stitches should be made in the same direction. That is, the bottom stitches and the top ones are in one direction. Otherwise, you work will look sloppy.
- Neat back side. In fact, this is a reflection of several previous paragraphs. Do you know what they say? Embroidery is judged by its back side. This shows artisan`s professionalism. If the back side is "full" of knots and tangled threads, then alas — it's no good.
- Clean hands — clean work. Yes! No matter how minor it may seem. It is very important to keep your hands clean, otherwise canvas may be with spots and scuffs. Besides, you can stain a thread. I know some embroiderers who treat their hands with talcum powder before work.
- Positive emotional state. It is important to work with good mood. It is even better to cheer up with morning exercises :). Imagine that you have bad mood, you quarrelled with someone or the day did not go well at all. And you sit down to work. Nothing good will happen. Thread will be tangled or torn, you may be wrong about cross stitches. I know it myself :). Moreover, handmade work is handmade work which, as I think, shows artisan`s mood. It is very important for your work to be imbued with good emotions. After all, you will sell it or give it to another person. If it's too bad, it's better to put it off until tomorrow.
- Embroidery with two hands. This, of course, requires practice and skill. If you embroider on a frame or hoops, which are attached to the table, this approach is very useful. The work goes faster, the hand does not get tired to hold the hoops. I learnt how to embroider with 2 hands in 2 hours. Secondary hand learns quickly how to help the main one :).
- Choice and quality of yarn. If you embroider according to the pattern taken from the Internet, or according to your own, then this is also important. I try to take threads of one company. Choosing threads usually takes me a very long time. It is great if you have a map of thread colours from different manufacturers. In case of an emergency, go to a store with your threads and compare colors :)
- Many needles and an organizer. This will make you work a lot easier. You do not need to change threads constantly when using one needle. I have many sets of needles and an organizer. I draw the legend on special paper pieces. I put threads of all colors used in needles and place them according to the legend. The work goes very quickly.
- Attentiveness. You cannot do without it :). Not to get confused in the pattern and not to make a mistake, I cross out embroidered fragments. This is especially true if a pattern is black and white. This prevents you from embroidering the same fragment twice or confuse rows.
I was very happy to share my experience with you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments or via a personal message :)
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