Beginner's embroidery
TUtor: Serena Baker, 2021 winner of BBC The Great British Sewing Bee
Serena Baker is the 2021 winner of BBC TV show, The Great British Sewing Bee. She’s a keen upcycler with an interest in sustainable sewing. Join Serena as she shows us how to add embroidery to upcycle and personalise clothing. You can even cover stains and holes with it! Serena teaches us the basic stitches to get started with embroidery. After mastering the technique, she takes us through embroidering a design onto an item that needs a pick-me-up, from t-shirts to canvas tote bags. If you’re planning to embroider onto stretch fabric like a tshirt, you’ll need to stabilise the section you will be embroidering with interfacing before you begin – this helps prevent your stitches going wayward.
Video time
45 minutes
- Needle
- Embroidery thread in desired colours
- Embroidery hoop
- Scissors
- Fabric pen/chalk to draw your design (or you can freestyle!)
- Item of clothing
- If using stretch fabric – you also need a small section of interfacing
See more from Upcycling Week 2022!
Upcycling Week was all about living more sustainably and we discovered how to breathe new life into tired, old or unwanted household objects. A crack team of upcycling experts hosted a wide range of exciting hands-on workshops, showing us how to transform unloved items into brand new creations and sharing advice along the way. You’ll be amazed what you can create from nothing with some imagination, basic tools and a little elbow grease. Watch again here!
