How to Embroider Clothes: A DIY Book Review
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The Embroidered Closet: Modern Hand-Stitching for Upgrading and Upcycling Your Wardrobe is a beautifully made book intended to inspire and instruct readers on how to embroider clothes and add custom touches. The book is written by Canadian fiber artist Alexandra Stratkotter, owner of Florals and Floss– an online embroidery retailer. Her goal is to give readers the “confidence and resources” to put needle and thread to garments already in your closet.
Whether you’re new to embroidery or looking to expand your hobby to include working on clothes, you’ll find valuable information in this book.
What’s in The Embroidered Closet?
Before you pick up your needle and thread, though, you’ll want to leisurely flip through the text. The photography is clean, simple, and humble, showcasing the embroidered motifs. For instance, a full-page image of a pile of clothes stacked neatly on a worn wooden chair evokes ease and comfort. A later image of a model walking through an overgrown field while wearing an embroidered skirt shows that the clothes you make don’t need to be treated delicately.
Highlights of The Embroidered Closet include a thorough overview of fabric types, how they behave, and how to best work with them. The later section on thrifting complements the fabric discussion, pointing readers in the right direction to find what they need for their next project. Stratkotter includes illustrated diagrams on 13 different stitches to use for mending and decorating.
How embroidery can be ethical
Stratkotter also includes a note on the increasing interest in ethical fashion. Though fast fashion is dominant in our society, more sustainable wardrobe approaches are also becoming more popular. The Embroidered Closet will help you act more ethically in maintaining your own wardrobe. The embroidery she teaches is both decorative and functional. When you mend and decorate your clothes using embroidery techniques, you can keep an item instead of throwing it away and buying a replacement. Further, by adding custom decorative elements to your clothes, you end up with pieces you like more. You’ll wear these items more often and keep them longer as a result.
The book provides full color photos and detailed instructions for 18 projects. She shows how to use the included motif drawings to upgrade t-shirts, jeans, sweaters, and even shoes. The instructions tell you thread thickness, color, and stitch type. The photos are clear and large enough that you can count stitches and compare spacing.
If you are hoping to extend the life of your favorite jeans by learning how to embroider clothes, buy The Embroidered Closet today.
If you’re a junkie for all kinds of needle crafts, take a look at our review of Make, Sew and Mend, another book that helps you sustain a beautiful wardrobe.
