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Can I wash my embroidery?

The answer depends on the materials you use.

 Which fabrics can be washed? 

Most embroidery fabrics are perfectly resistant to washing. Here is an overview: 

  • Aida fabric: Made of cotton and washable. 
  • Evenweave fabrics: Usually a blend of cotton and polyester, which also makes them suitable for washing. 
  • Linen: A strong fabric that can be washed well, but keep in mind that linen can shrink slightly. 
  • Hand-dyed fabrics: Generally colorfast. If they cannot be washed, this is clearly stated with the product. 

 

What should you pay attention to when choosing yarn? 

The thread you use plays an important role in the washability of your embroidery: 

  • DMC thread: Colorfast and suitable for washing.
  • Hand-dyed yarns and silk yarns: Not always colorfast.
    • To prevent color bleeding, you can pre-rinse these yarns in cold water until they no longer give off color. 

 

How to wash your embroidery safely? 

If you still want to wash your embroidery, follow these steps to prevent damage: 

  1. Use lukewarm water: Avoid hot water and do not soak your embroidery. 
  2. Use a mild soap without additives.
    1. Never use soft detergents such as Woolite or baby shampoo, because they contain fats that can affect the dyes in your yarn. 
  3. Rinse thoroughly: Make sure all soap residue is removed. 
  4. Dry gently: Gently squeeze out excess water (do not wring!) and lay your embroidery flat on a towel to dry. 
     

Ironing your embroidery 

After drying, you can iron your embroidery to remove wrinkles. Keep the following in mind: 

  • Do not iron until the embroidery is completely dry. 
  • Do not use steam as this may cause colors to run. 
  • Place a clean towel over your embroidery and iron on a low temperature. 

With these tips, your embroidery will stay beautiful and clean, ready to take pride of place!

 

 

All about embroidery needles

The most important tool for embroidery is a NEEDLE!

Needles are made of steel with a layer of nickel on the outside. In some cases, the layer of nickel is replaced by gold (gold plated). These needles are very suitable for people with nickel allergy.
 
EMBROIDERY NEEDLES

  •   There are many different types and sizes of needles for all kinds of applications.
     Embroidery needles have a larger eye because you embroider with thicker thread
  •   they are available with a sharp or blunt point.
  •   The needles with a sharp point (Embroidery or Chenille needles) are used for free embroidery on densely woven fabrics.
  •   For cross-stitch embroidery, a needle with a blunt point such as tapestry needles are used.
       

Count

Needle Size

6

18

8

20

11

22

14/28

24

16/32

24/26

18/36

26/28

40

28


BALL NEEDLES

Ball needles are weaving needles. Ball needles come in lengths of 34, 37 and 40 mm. Size 34 and 37 are equally thick and suitable for the finest fabrics, size 40 is a bit thicker and therefore perfect for the coarser fabrics. I always embroider with size 34 myself.
But why are ball needles so great? There is a tiny ball on the point and during embroidery the ball almost automatically “grabs” the hole in your fabric. This means that you will not pierce through the weave of your fabric as quickly and your stitches will be more even.

Some needles can turn black is you have to much acid in your skin – so if you ever find yourself experiencing that, try to find gold plated or hypo-allergenic needles.

 

 

 

 

All about different embroidery fabrics


 Aida

Aida is also easy to embroider on. This is a cotton fabric that is woven in "blocks". You make the crosses over a block. 
 

This is easier to see and count than the so-called “evenweave” fabrics, where you make the crosses over 2 threads. Aida is also for sale in many craft shops. Usually only in boring white.

 

Evenweave   


There are various “evenweave” fabrics, such as Jobelan or Lugana. These are fabrics made from a cotton blend. The thread is somewhat smoother and completely even, which creates a tight, regularly woven fabric. Every cross on this fabric is the same. You normally embroider over 2 weave threads, which is somewhat more difficult to count than the blocks of Aida. 
  

Evenweave fabrics are also very suitable if you want to embroider “1 over 1”. You then embroider with 1 thread of yarn over 1 weave thread of the fabric. This creates tiny crosses. This is often done with very large embroideries. 

Evenweave fabrics are available in many colors. A single evenweave fabric is available in 14 threads, but usually in 10, 11 or 12.6 threads. 
 

Linen  

Linen is woven from flax. This is a 100% natural fiber with a somewhat irregular structure. The thread is sometimes somewhat thicker or thinner. This also makes the linen fabric somewhat irregular.

Linen is available in many colors from 7 threads per cm to even 22 threads per cm. The very coarse 7 thread linen looks like a kind of "jute" and gives a tough, robust look. The 22 thread linen is used more for free embroidery.

 

Hand-dyed fabrics  

There are also beautiful hand-dyed fabrics. These are regular embroidery fabrics that are given an extra dye bath, which creates the most diverse colors. This can be very intense with even multiple colors in one fabric, but also somewhat more subtle, which creates a beautiful cloudy effect in the fabric

What makes it extra complicated is that there are many different companies that dye the fabrics and then you also have every color in 11, 12, 14, 16, 18 etc. thread linen and sometimes evenweave or Aida.

 

What are counts? 

If you have ever embroidered foreign patterns you have undoubtedly come across it: the recommended fabric should be "32 ct", for example. But what does "ct" actually mean? 

“Ct.” is the abbreviation of “count.” This indicates the number of threads per inch. An inch is 2.54 cm so 32 count is (32 : 2.54) 12.6 threads per cm. 

Here is an overview of the most common counts: 

Aida – Squares Per inch

Evenweave / Linen squares per inch

8

25

11

28

14

32

16

36

18

38

20

40, 46, 55

 

Different types of embroidery thread

6 Strand Floss

This is a mercerized* cotton, twisted into 6 threads. By splitting the thread you can use 1, 2 or 3 threads at the same time to obtain the desired thickness. 
The best known brand is DMC. This is available worldwide in 500 colours. DMC is also usually indicated in embroidery patterns. 

Another well-known brand is Anchor, but much less easily available.

Single strand yarn 

Here too, there are many types, sizes and brands.
Sulky® Cotton Petites 12 embroidery thread is a strong cotton thread and is ideal for handicrafts. The thread is thicker (1 thread of Sulky yarn is approximately equal to 2 threads of DMC) and gives a soft, warm, natural look. 

Hand-dyed or gradient yarn 
 
In addition to the “regular” 6 strand floss, there are also many brands of gradient yarn, usually hand-dyed. Especially with the increasing popularity of embroidery, more and more companies are coming along that dye embroidery thread and fabrics themselves. 

These yarns are basically just cotton floss but are given an extra dye bath (or more), which means the color is not completely even. This gives a lively effect to your embroidery.

If you embroider with gradient yarn, embroider cross by cross, for the most beautiful effect of the gradient yarn (so no half crosses there and half crosses back). Also pay attention to washing. Not all yarns are colorfast. That is not a problem in itself, but it does require special treatment if you still want to wash your embroidery. 

There are many different types of yarn depending on your preference. 100% is another type of yarn used for both embroidery and cross-stitch 
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