Should I use an embroidery kit?

Transcript

Should I use an embroidery kit?

Whenever I’m in online forums or Facebook groups that talk about embroidery, the topic of kits comes up. Should you use kits for your embroidery, or should you gather your own supplies. There are pros and cons to each option.

Kits are great for beginners.

I have this kit that I purchased. It’s a fun little bird design and it’s a kit from Hook, Line and Tinker a great Canadian designer. 

The advantage of a kit is that it has everything you need. You can just open it up and get started. You’ll probably need a pair of scissors, but most kits even include a needle.

So this kit includes a hoop, which you’re going to need and it has all the thread, needle, pattern, stitch instructions and it has the fabric with the design printed on it. So it has everything that you need. You can open it up and just get started.

Also with a kit, you know what it’s going to look like. You have all the colours and a pretty good target of what you’re aiming for.

So if you like the security of knowing what it’s going to look like and having everything provided for you, then a kit is a great choice.

However, kits are limiting if you want to be creative.

Let’s say I wanted to stitch this cardinal in orange or purple or green. Then I couldn’t use this kit. But if I had the pattern, I could be creative with my own colour combinations. I could even change it to a different size.

And if I already have tools like a hoop, I don’t have to buy another one. You don’t need a new hoop for every piece of embroidery that you do.

So there are pros and cons to both. There is nothing wrong with using a kit. They are great, especially for beginners. But once you’ve done a few, you will feel more confident and you might want to move off onto your own.

If you are getting a kit, try to get a kit from a reputable manufacturer. If you order something from China or get it at a dollar store, you don’t know what kind of quality the materials will be.

If you get a cheap kit and you are frustrated because the hoop won’t hold your fabric or the threads break, it might be the quality of the kit. So don’t give up on embroidery altogether, but look for a better quality kit.

I especially like to support small, independent businesses and designers and there are a lot of great ones out there and a lot of great kits available.

So whether you use a kit or not, have fun with your embroidery.

See more embroidery resources.