Last updated on February 24th, 2024 at 11:26 pm
Updated November 28, 2023
A memorable project to embroider
Have you seen these cute personalized pullovers sweeping the Internet? I had to try to embroider a few of my own! Even though life as a mom and substitute teacher keeps me very busy, I tried my best to carve out time to learn this technique, just in time for cozy sweater weather!
Once I learned the chain stitch, my project took me no longer than three hours to complete– and that’s while juggling caring for a little one.
You may make this even faster than me!
I ended up stitching two sweaters, one for my daughter and one for her little friend’s first birthday. I love creating memorable gifts for birthdays if I can. (I “sized up” for the sweaters so the girls can grow into them– they fit both girls so well even past the listed age range.)
You can make this project as a memorable gift, a pretty personalized garment or simply for the practice and fun of it!
Materials needed:
- Plain knit sweater or pullover (I loved this cream knit sweater from Amazon!)
- Yarn (I got this cotton yarn in bubblegum pink!)
- A large-eye needle
- Scissors
- Masking tape
Directions:
1. Gather your materials. Any lightweight article of clothing should be fine for this project, but I love the chunky knit sweater because my needle glides right through it. A large-eye needle such as a darning needle is needed to accommodate the thickness of the yarn. The yarn you select can be in any color and can be cotton, polyester, or a blend. I prefer to use cotton yarn.
2. Make straight boundaries for the letters. First, I used the masking tape to create a section across the front of the sweater where the letters would go, ensuring it was straight and even. This served as my guide to help my letters stay straight and not dilly dally up or downhill.
Then I sketched the letters on the tape first to ensure they were evenly dispersed and centered across the section, not heavy on the left or right. I think it is important to take some time to plan the even spacing of the letters before making any stitches. It takes little effort but makes the finished product look so much more classy and professional!
3. Next, outline the letters lightly onto the surface. I used a pink marker (the same color as my yarn) to lightly sketch the letters on the actual sweater. A pencil might suffice for this as well. This step was crucial for guiding me, so I wouldn’t recommend skipping it.
4. Then I threaded my large-eye needle once and knotted the end. Be sure to leave a tail on the other end. I started making chain stitches on my letter outline. Be sure to only work with the top layer of the sweater– going through both sides of the sweater defeats the pullover’s purpose of pulling over.
Using the chain stitch on the knit sweater
The actual stitch used for this is called a chain stitch, or lazy daisy stitch. (There are a ton of great tutorials out there on this stitch!)
Practice the stitch before attempting the project. I’d recommend trying it on scrap fabric with any thread just to get a feel for it.
But this stitch really has a flow once you get into it– I can see why it’s sometimes referred to as the “Laisy Daisy” stitch. This stitch basically entails threading through the loop of the previous stitch before pulling it completely taut, so the stitches are linking back to each other.
A large-eye needle, like a darning needle, is key to getting the thick yarn through the cables of a knit pullover like the ones I used. You can even practice the chain stitch on the sweater without knotting and then undo the stitch.
How to chain stitch embroider a name: an overview
This instructional video I created is a brief overview of the entire process. There are also a lot of great tutorials on YouTube and Instagram for this. I go fast in the video, but don’t let that stop you!
5. To wrap up the project, instead of placing the needle back inside the loop as you would to make another stitch, direct the needle right outside the last loop you made. Pull the yarn through. Flip the piece over, take out the needle, and double knot to secure. Cut off any excess yarn. You can see this process shown in the video above.
Troubleshooting
Don’t worry if you need to rethread the needle. I had to do this several times throughout the project, and these changes were not evident in the final piece.
If you make a mistake in your stitches, these stitches can pretty easily be undone. Work to undo the mistake stitch and start again.
Embroider a creative and pretty gift
I found this to be a fun creative outlet and a great way to make memorable items for my daughter and our little friend! (I hope my family likes the chain stitch embroidery style, because it’s possible I’ll embroider anything I can get my hands on!)
I’ve also seen this chain stitch style used on baby blankets, and I think they look adorable! Check them out on Etsy— they sell for a pretty penny, so if you can do this yourself, even more power to you. Best of luck– let me know if you attempted this project in the comments!
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