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6 Basic Hand Embroidery Materials and Tools

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All lives matter, 2021, detail

All lives matter, 2021, 64 x 65 cm.

STAY 2020 detail

STAY 2020

Seven Axolotls 2019, detail

Seven Axolotls 2019 64 x 60cm.

Redirect Now 2018, detail

`Redirect Now 2018 52 x 60 cm.

Feathers_detail

Feathers 2018 60 x 65 cm.

Look, it's biodegradable, detail

Look, it's biodegradable 2017

Found 2017, detail SOLD

Found 2017 55 x 68 cm. SOLD

Bye Bye July 2016

Bye Bye 2016 detail

Some 2015 56 x 61 cm.

Some 2015, detail

On the hoof 2015

On the hoof 2015, detail

Gut Feeling 2014

Gut Feeling 2014 detail

Scooped up 2013

Scooped up detail

Nosy 2014

Nosy 2014 detail

Skip intro 2013

Skip intro 2013 detail

Scratch 2012

Scratch 2012 detail

Purr chase 2008

Purr chase detail

Unfollow 2012

Unfollow 2012 detail

Domestic 2011

Domestic 2011 detail

Fisk 2010

Fisk 2010 detail

Free Recovery 2010

Free Recovery 2010 detail

wysiwyg 2006

wysiwyg 2006 detail

New Potatoes 2011

New Potatoes detail

Victory 2009

Victory 2009 detail

If 2009

If 2009 detail

Deer 2007

Deer 2007 detail

Always 2007

Always 2007 detail

On color 1997

On color 1997 detail

Playground 2008 SOLD

Playground detail SOLD

Play with me 2006

Play with me detail

Business as usual 2005

Business as ..detail

Into the woods 2002

Into the woods 2002 detail

100 % Checked detail SOLD

100 % Checked 2005 SOLD

Re do 2004

Redo 2004 detail

Count your blessings

Count your .. 2003 detail

Mark making 2000

Mark making detail

Birdcage 2001 SOLD

Birdcage detail SOLD

Welcome to the real ..

Welcome ... 2001 detail

Rites 1999

Rites 1999 detail

Losing .. memory 1998

Losing ... memory detail

Tales 1998

Tales 1998 detail

Patchwork 1997 - 2007

Patchwork 1997 detail

Moose in the .. 1996

Moose in the .. detail

Racing thoughts 1996 SOLD

Racing thoughts detail SOLD

Used Cloth 1995

Used Cloth detail

Tree of life 1994 SOLD

Tree of life detail SOLD

Beware of embroidery 1993

Beware of . .1993 detail

I have known them all SOLD

I have known .. 1992 detail-SOLD

Like animals 1991

Like animals detail

Where is the cat 1988 SOLD

Where .. cat 1988 detail

No title 1990

No title 1990 detail

Red 1988

Red 1988 detail

In memoriam 1988

In memoriam detail

Themes 1987

Themes 1987 detail

Green 1986

Green 1986 detail

Sampler 1980

Sampler 1980 detail

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tilleke schwarz into the woods 2002 handembroidery on linen-

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In series like Be Nice. Project and Dream Home Sweet Home, thread becomes a language of its own. The Free Form series feels particularly expressive, where compositions evolve organically, much like a painter responding intuitively to colors, shapes, and gestures — creating dynamic, evolving pieces that invite exploration.

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Archive of work by artist Jennifer Hunold including the “Be Nice. Project,” embroidered and drawn floor plan series, abstract embroidery, and narrative writing and blogging.

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Untitled. Embroidery, cloth and yarn. 12 x 14 inches. 2014. NFS

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Artworks from “Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit” at Tate Modern

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Artworks from “Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit” at Tate Modern

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One of Kelley’s signature works, "More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid" (1987), is composed of handwoven dolls and second-hand toys that he collected from thrift stores and flea markets. These discarded objects are sewn together into a complex tapestry, critically reflecting on the romanticization and idealization of childhood innocence. Through this work, Kelley challenges society's sentimental views of childhood, uncovering the emotions and memories embedded within these objects.

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"Note to Self, Moves," 2020, thread on xerox, 11 x 8.5 in/28 x 21.5 cm

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Spoiled Assemblage on fabric 52" x 37" x 5" 1986

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As a designer of embroidery patterns, I always cringe when I give recommendations on which needle to use for working my patterns. Because I do realize that most probably you will take another fabric to work it than what I chose, and some of you might want to change the number of strands you use in the needle.

I get it because I'm a fellow stitcher like everyone else and the desire to add something from yourself to an existing design, work it your way, is quite familiar to me. Or, in other cases, it might be just hard to find the same fabric or thread that you see in the list, so you might opt to take materials you have easier access to. And that's completely fine too.

That's why I always cringe when I write the needle recommendation. Because the thing is, the best choice will be heavily depending on several conditions, including the fabric you use and the thickness of the thread you are using.

However, writing a whole essay on the topic of needles in a PDF document where the main focus should be instructions to work the pattern would be at least confusing for the reader, and in the worst case scenario might just scare you away with too much of information to process...

4 conditions of choosing embroidery needle

For now, let's put aside the types of embroidery needles and imagine that you have a mixed stack of various needles at home or your working studio and you have to make a choice on which one you need for this particular project. Or let's say you are in a craft store standing in front of a showcase with lots of different needles and your head is dizzy with all the names and shapes. Which one should you choose?

The main things you should pay attention to when choosing embroidery needles are following:

1. Tip

The tip of a needle can be blunt or sharp.

Surface embroidery will always call for a sharp tip since we need to pierce through the weaving fibers of the fabric and sometimes even through the other stitches. Crewel embroidery will also require a sharp-tipped needle.

The areas of hand embroidery that welcome blunt-tipped needles include cross stitch, counted canvas work, drawn work, blackwork, etc., which are worked on Aida and other even weaved fabric with clear visible holes. With these embroidery styles you usually would need to slide your needle through the hole in the weaving and a rounded tip makes it easier to slip the needle exactly there and not to pierce through the fibers of the fabric.

Blunt tipped needles also have another use, though. I, for one, don't do neither cross stitch nor canvas work, so why would I have needles with dull tips at my stash?

Because they are most suitable for stitches that include some kind of weaving like detached buttonhole or interlaced back stitch. A rounded tip will not tug on the fibers of the thread in your stitches so you won't have to worry about ruining your work.

2. Size

The general rule of the thumb is that the size of the needle should correspond to the thickness of thread.

This is not something to take literally, of course. You don't need to measure your needle and thread to find the best match. You can determine that just by looking and comparing the needles with the thread you are going to use.

In the picture above, which needle suits more the thread in the middle?

The one on the right, correct. Its shaft is longer, thicker, and sturdier, and more capable of leading this thread in your stitching and for the thread to feel more comfortable and secure.

3. Eye

And again, we have to take into consideration our thread. The eye should be large enough to accommodate thread in comfort.

Here is the needle from the right from the previous picture, with the 6 strands of floss in its eye. The floss still has some room to move and it doesn't look crumpled and constrained.

And here is the needle from the left. As you see, one strand of floss is the best option for it. Add more and the thread will already feel a bit jammed there.

Why thread should have some space and air in the eye of the needle and not be jammed?

When the needle passes through the fabric, embroidery thread already goes through a certain level of friction that does a certain level of damage to it. You probably noticed that as you stitch and it comes to the part of the thread which was in the eye, it often looks worn down. The best thing in such cases is to finish your thread right there because it lost its appeal.

So, the rule here is to choose a needle that will let the thread sit comfortably in its eye.

4. Width

When we speak about the width of the needle, most of the time it means that it should correspond to the fabric and its density in weaving.

There are different types of fabric that you can use for hand embroidery and some of them are very densely woven, others are not. Some, even if their weaving is dense, will be quite light, but others will be sturdy like jeans fabric.

So, the needle should also be suitable for the fabric you are going to use.

In the pictures above I'm using cotton muslin in 2 layers (as a ground fabric and interlining). Cotton muslin is generally quite a light type of fabric with dense weaving. So, the thicker needle from the previous examples has a hard time to pass through it. And as it does, it leaves a damaged hole behind. You can see how the weaving is falling apart around the place where the needle is emerging.

This kind of hole, my friends, is impossible to fix. It means that the needle is too wide for this particular fabric. Or, if we look at it from another perspective, if you have a thick thread and you need a corresponding needle, then the problem might be in the poor choice of fabric. Take something sturdier and with a looser weave.

When the needle has an adequate size to the fabric, there is no resistance and therefore, no big damage to the fabric as it passes through.

Yes, a hole will most probably appear (I used 2 strands of floss for this example. If I used 1 strand, the hole would be barely noticeable at all).

But after a couple of gentle strokes, the weaving will bounce back to its original appearance. The needle tip is pointing at the place of the hole here, but you can barely see it.

So, these are the main conditions to consider when you choose embroidery needle for your project.

Ultimately, the order of choice will look as follows:

1. The type of the needle according to the purpose (Tapestry needles, Crewel needles, Embroidery sharpies, etc). I talked about the types of the needle in this post previously, this is also where you can define whether you need a sharp tip or a blunt tip.

2. Think about how the needle will correspond to the fabric in size and width.

3. Think about how the needle will accommodate the thread it its eye.

When all these conditions are thought through, the process of working your embroidery project will be much smoother! :)

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Stitch Floral: How to choose embroidery needle: 4 conditions to consider

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A blog about hand embroidery and needlework adventures

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Five needle types you need to know about for hand embroidery

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Five needle types you need to know about for hand embroidery — Embellished Elephant

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My favourite pin cushion isn’t a pin cushion but a ‘needle’ cushion. I’ve accumulated many needles over the years and in this pin cushion I can sort them into their different types (I also love that they look like the spines on a cactus).

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Long and Short Stitch - How to quick video tutorial - hand embroidery stitches for beginners

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13 Hand Embroidery Stitches for Beginners 

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13 Hand Embroidery Stitches for Beginners 

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13 Hand Embroidery Stitches for Beginners

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Brighton outsider artist Anthony Stevens chats about working with embroidery and textiles, being a peer support in mental health, and shares an insight into his thoughts and day…

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Methods, Tests, and Experiments

Throughout our project, we experienced several adjustments and refinements, evolving from our initial creative concept to the final proposal.

In the initial stages, we proposed a highly interactive concept: setting up material donation boxes across campuses and organizing a live doodle and embroidery event. The idea was to invite students to participate spontaneously, using donated materials to create embroidered designs or messages of gratitude. These embroidered fabric pieces would then be stitched together into blankets or quilts and gifted to the security team.

However, due to time constraints and the complexity of the project, we did not proceed with the original plan for live experimentation.

Reasons for Change:

Organizing a live embroidery activity required significant manpower, resources, and post-event coordination, making the project overly complex.

Doodle and live embroidery activities rely heavily on spontaneity and randomness. In the busy campus environment, this interactive format might have limited appeal.

Embroidery is a skill that requires some technical knowledge. Although we had planned to teach basic techniques, it became apparent that enabling participants with no prior experience to confidently complete embroidery pieces in a short time would be challenging, potentially discouraging participation.

Refined Solution:

Upon reassessing the project’s core objectives, we decided to simplify the plan. This shift encouraged us to focus more on practicality and goal-oriented outcomes, ultimately leading to a more diverse and feasible proposal.

Why We Chose a Workshop Format:

Workshops provide a more stable organizational structure, allowing participants to book sessions in advance, ensuring better planning and smoother execution.

Workshops are more effective at attracting participants who are genuinely interested and willing to invest time, improving the overall quality and outcome of the activity.

In the workshop format, we can provide step-by-step embroidery guidance and offer direct support to participants with no prior experience, making the activity more inclusive and encouraging active engagement.

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Stitching Care – Embroidered Narratives of Appreciation

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Stitching Care – Embroidered Narratives of Appreciation