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kojodesigns

embroidery 101- how to hand embroider a onesie

February 28, 2013

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

embroidery 101- how to hand embroider a onesieWhen I shared theΒ custom embroidered onesie that I made for my niece Josie, I promised an embroidery primer. Today is the day, friends.

This little primer truly is pretty basic- enough to help you embroider onesies and pillows and home decor projects.

how to embroiderBefore you get started, trace the name/design you’ll be embroidering onto your onesie (or other fabric) with a fabric pen. If your fabric is stretchy (like jersey t-shirt/onesie material), also pin interfacing onto the back side of where you’ll be stitching (it acts as a stabilizer).

hand embroidery tutorialThread your needle with embroidery thread. The kind I use is six strands thick (I think that’s pretty standard) and I leave all six strands intact (sometimes for embroidery, you pull apart the strands for precision, but not for this project). Pull you needle and thread through your fabric at your beginning mark (if you’re embroidering a name, it’s the place where you would start your pen).

how to hand embroiderFollow the line you’ve traced for your first stitch, pulling the thread back through the fabric. This will be your only ‘forward’ stitch.

basic embroidery tutorialFrom this point on, each stitch will be a ‘back stitch.’ You’ll choose a spot a little bit in front of your last stitch, pull your needle and thread through that spot, and then stitch backwards to meet up with your last stitch/hole.

how to hand embroider a onesieContinue back stitching along your traced patch, always bringing your needle just a little bit ahead on your tracing and then stitching back to your last stitch.

embroidery 101- how to hand embroider a onesieIn no time, your entire embroidered name or project will be finished and ready to gift (or hang, or wear!).

gifts 26 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alicia @ La Famille says

    February 28, 2013 at 2:34 pm

    GIRL! i love these!! and if i knew what the heck type of baby i was having, i’d hire you to embroider my a whole drawer-full! sooo cute! i’m sharing this with my friend that just started embroidery. adorable.

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      February 28, 2013 at 11:14 pm

      Haha- coming soon to a mailbox near you (as soon as you know the name of course). πŸ™‚

      Reply
  2. Erin says

    March 9, 2013 at 2:42 pm

    Oh snap, here it is. πŸ™‚ I’ve been waiting on you embroidery primer. This is happening, asap.

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      March 9, 2013 at 11:21 pm

      Can’t wait to see what you make for Miss Hannah! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  3. Erin says

    March 9, 2013 at 2:43 pm

    PS-I don’t say “Oh snap” in real life. Just mostly on Pinterest, and now here. πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      March 9, 2013 at 11:20 pm

      hahahahaha

      Reply
  4. Sarah says

    March 10, 2013 at 5:57 pm

    Love this idea so, so much! Thanks for sharing! I made one this weekend for a new little guy we’re waiting to meet!

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      March 10, 2013 at 9:59 pm

      Sarah, that’s so fun! I need to make a couple more as well- thanks for the reminder. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  5. Paige says

    August 23, 2014 at 9:57 pm

    I’ve never worked with stabilizer before…any tips? Do you just trim around the design when you’re done stitching?

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      August 26, 2014 at 4:22 am

      Hey Paige- yep! Just trim!

      Reply
  6. Mel says

    September 15, 2014 at 7:31 pm

    What type of interfacing did you use for the onesie? I looked on Amazon and wow, so many options!

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      September 15, 2014 at 10:51 pm

      Oh boy, Mel, I don’t know. It is fairly thin and pliable, and not the iron on kind. Hope that helps. πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  7. Bonnie says

    October 22, 2014 at 7:13 pm

    Any laundry care instructions? Should I worry about the thread bleeding?

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      October 22, 2014 at 9:39 pm

      Hey Bonnie- these hold up great in the wash (the stabilizer helps a ton with that). One time a few years ago I had some thread bleed, but haven’t ever had that effect again. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  8. Leslie the geek says

    March 23, 2015 at 8:23 pm

    Thank you so much for this. Attempting a daisy soon!

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      March 24, 2015 at 11:44 pm

      FUN! I love that!

      Reply
  9. Mikki says

    July 21, 2015 at 6:14 pm

    Any idea if the thread and knots irritate baby’s skin??

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      July 31, 2015 at 3:56 am

      Hey Mikki, sometimes I iron adhesive backing on top of the stitching so that they don’t feel any of the knots. But honestly, I think it’s probably not necessary (which is why I only do that once in awhile). πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  10. Linda says

    January 18, 2019 at 7:55 am

    Can you show a picture of the finished product from the inside? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      February 16, 2019 at 8:00 pm

      Hey Linda! I don’t know if I have any embroidered onesies on hand, but I will try to find one and take a pic of the inside! (It’s kind of a mess of yarn, but then covered by the interfacing, so not sure a picture will be super helpful, but I’ll try!)

      Reply
  11. Stacy says

    June 9, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    Do you mind sharing the kind of pen you use? I am just learning how to hand embroidery and I bought one but it’s not working very well. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      June 9, 2020 at 10:22 pm

      Hey Stacy- fun that you’re getting started! I have several embroidery projects I’ve been wanting to do lately. πŸ˜‰ I love this pen-
      https://amzn.to/30tDHK6
      The blue washes off with water and the purple fades with time/air. It’s my favorite for these projects. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  12. Catherine McConnell says

    January 7, 2021 at 1:40 pm

    Thank you for this info, it’s so helpful! I’d love to know what font you used on the Lily onesie – it’s so pretty! Thank you!!

    Reply
  13. Amy says

    July 15, 2021 at 8:02 am

    What kind of stabilizer did you use?

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      November 9, 2021 at 9:31 am

      It’s called “iron on stabilizer” (I think I googled “stabilizer for hand embroidery” and several came up).

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. embroidered map Christmas ornaments says:
    December 20, 2019 at 2:47 am

    […] of New Zealand up on google and traced with a fabric pen onto little squares of linen). Embroider (there’s a basic emboidery primer here if you don’t know how). Finish off the back of the embroidery hoop so it looks nice and neat […]

    Reply

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