Tools, Materials and Equipment for Hand Embroidery
Tools, Materials and Equipment for Hand Embroidery is tested through questions on correct tool choice, needle-to-thread matching and care of the kit.
Needles and threads
- Crewel (embroidery) needles have a long eye and a sharp point; sizes run 1–12, and the smaller the number, the larger the needle. Size 7–9 suits two strands of stranded cotton on medium cotton.
- Tapestry needles are blunt and are used for counted-thread work on even-weave fabric so the weave is not split.
- Stranded cotton divides into six strands; peel them off one at a time to avoid tangling. Pearl cotton (perle 5, 8, 12) is a single non-divisible twist; metallic zari needs a chenille or metallic needle with a wide eye.
Supporting equipment
- Wooden or plastic hoops of 10–20 cm hold small motifs; scroll or rotating frames keep large work taut without distorting the edges.
- Keep three cutting tools separate: small sharp embroidery scissors for floss, bent-shank scissors for cutwork, and dressmaker shears reserved for fabric only.
- A thimble (middle finger), stiletto for eyelets, needle threader, floss bobbins, water-soluble marker, tailor's chalk, tracing paper and a pricking tool complete a basic kit.
Worked example
A student must work two strands of cotton floss on cotton lawn. Two strands are fine, so a size 9 crewel needle makes a hole small enough not to mark the lawn while giving an eye wide enough to thread; a size 3 would leave visible holes, and a tapestry needle would drag and split the lawn. For the same design in zari, switch to a chenille size 18, because zari frays in a small eye.
Traps
Using fabric shears on paper (blunts them), leaving a hoop on the fabric for days (permanent rings), threading six strands at once (tangles), and choosing a needle so large that it opens the weave.