Spotlight: Hollis Chatelain, Textile Artist
Inspired by her humanitarian work in Africa, Hollis Chatelain creates art quilts that raise awareness of the human condition in the third world. Back in the States, she wanted to...
Machine Embroidery
Machine embroidery adds design details to quilts, garments and home decor. It can be done with either a special machine, or use your home sewing machine to create patterns and designs on textiles. Common designs are monograms, florals, quilt labels and more!
You can purchase designs and load into your machine to stitch out, or use a computer program to make your own embroidery design. With a home sewing machine, you can draw or trace your design onto fabric and use a variety of stitches to create your embroidery design.
Before embarking on a project, make sure to have some stabilizer so that your fabric doesn’t stretch in the process, and the right color threads available to make your design. Using a hoop helps keep your design symmetrical.
Browse through our projects and stories that include machine embroidery as a technique in the process.
Machine Embroidery Inspiration
Spotlight: Stephen Wilson, Mixed Media Artist
Stephen Wilson uses modern technology to create contemporary artwork rooted in traditional craft. He uses fabric and thread to create his images in the same way a painter might use...
Spotlight: Lea McComas, Thread Painter & Fiber Artist
As Lea McComas travels the world and immerses herself in rich and vibrant cultures, her art reflects the human experience. With fabric and thread, she captures moments that highlight the...
More Machine Embroidery
7 Ways to Transfer your Embroidery Design to Fabric
There are a variety of techniques to transfer an embroidery or needlepoint design to fabric. Select the embroidery design transfer method that will work the best for the complexity of…
Spotlight: Hollis Chatelain, Textile Artist
Inspired by her humanitarian work in Africa, Hollis Chatelain creates art quilts that raise awareness of the human condition in the third world. Back in the States, she wanted to…
Spotlight: Gwen Lowery, Textile Artist
Gwen Lowery is a textile artist or a fiber artist or a machine embroiderer or all of the above! Her most recent mission has been to capture the motion and…
How to Make a Custom ID Badge Holder
We were very excited to attend Create Whimsy's very first Quilt Market in Portland, OR! We knew there would be so much creative energy that we would want to share…
My Room! Make a Sign!
These little door signs for kids' rooms were fast and fun to make with my embroidery machine. They can be customized to reflect each child's personality.
Thread Painting
I have always been interested in threadpainting. I took a workshop in Santa Fe from Jennifer Day. This was my first practice piece.
Super Kaden Cape
A Superhero cape is fun for Halloween or everyday play. The design was machined embroidered with polyester thread on cotton fabric. Hoop it, then stitch it!
“Courtship, 1947” – Embroidered Memories
A photo of my parents taken before they were married inspired this small quilt. I digitized the photo and stitched the image using brown thread to mimic sepia.