Magic to Your Clothes with Embroidery garment from scratch gives it a little more personal feel. One elegant technique to add to your clothes is embroidery. It gives your plain dresses a fresh look, and embroidered chiffon dresses have grace and elegance in them.
Moreover, you can turn fabric scraps into something useful with the help of embroidery, like transforming a piece of cotton cloth into a handkerchief.
Types of Embroidery on Clothes
From the fashion perspective, you can embroider any type of clothing. From denim to plain cotton t-shirts, embroidery can breathe new life into old things. There are different types of embroidery that you can do on your clothes. Some of these are discussed below.
Kantha
Kantha embroidery is mainly practiced in Bangladesh and the eastern regions of India. Traditionally, this type of embroidery was done with simple running stitches along the edges of dhotis and saris. The thread was taken from used clothes.
There are many uses for embroidered cloth, such as shawls, pillows, and mirror covers. It gives a slightly wrinkled effect to the cloth.
Chikankari
Chikankari literally means “embroidery” and is a traditional embroidery style from India. This fragile and artistic work is done on various fabrics, including cotton, muslin, organza, net, chiffon, etc. In order for the needle to pierce through effectively, it is essential for the cloth to be delicate.
There are thirty-two different kinds of chikankari stitches. The most notable ones include tepchi, bakhiya, jalli, hool, murri, etc.
Zardozi
Zardozi comes from two Persian words. Zar means gold, and dozi means sewing. There are several other names for this type of embroidery in the country, including kam-douzi, kaman-douzi, and gol-douzi. It is often heavy embroidery, created using gold and silver threads, and done on silk or a velvet-type fabric.
Zardozi is used as a decoration on a wide range of items like household textiles, napkins, clothes, tents, etc.
Phulkari
Phulkari means “floral work,” but this embroidery is much more than that. It also includes geometrical shapes and motifs. A colored silken thread is used for a darn stitch on the wrong side of coarse cotton cloth.
Phulkari is the folk embroidery of Punjab. It is mainly used in decorating dupattas, odhnis, and shawls. Types of phulkari include bagh, darshan dwar, Sanchi, chope etc.
Kashidakari
Kashidakari is one of the most popular types of embroidery in the Kashmir valley, Bihar, and Punjab. It covers all the different types of embroidery under its term. The base material for this embroidery is usually cotton, silk, or wool. Its types include sozni, zalakdozi, and zari thread.
Kashidakari is usually used to decorate shawls, Phirens, handkerchiefs, pillows, lampshades, bags, etc.
Kutch
The Kutch embroidery is generally done on cotton fabrics, using cotton or silk threads. It has rich designs with various stitches like the square chain, double buttonhole, satin, pattern darning, etc.
The embroidered products are of sixteen types, including Ahir, kambira, rabari, and soof.
How to Embroider Clothes
Now that you are familiar with the different types of embroidery, here is how you can transfer your design.
Use Embroidery Pen
If you are new to this and have a template, an embroidery pen is the perfect and simplest choice. You can draw directly on your fabric or trace designs using a lightbox. Once you are done, run an iron over the design for the pen to disappear.
These pens come in a variety of different styles that can work with water, heat, or air. You have to understand which pen works best for you.
Try Water Soluble Embroidery Stabilizer
There are mainly 2 types of water-soluble stabilizers. The first one consists of just a stabilizer, while the other has a stabilizer with a peel-off sticky backing. You can get them in yards, rolls, or sheets.
Once you finish the embroidery, soak it in lukewarm water, and you will observe that the stabilizer dissolves immediately. Pat the final embroidery with a towel to remove any excess water.
Transfer with Iron
In this technique, all you have to do is transfer your design to the fabric with a hot iron and then stitch along the lines. Make sure to press hard when transferring to ensure an impeccable imprint.
Iron-on transfer sheets and designs are available online, too, making the procedure even simpler.
Conclusion
Magic to Your Clothes with Embroidery is an elegant way to add magic to your clothes. You can opt for full embroidery or add touches on pockets or certain areas of your dresses. Embroidered clothes are usually significantly more expensive than plain clothes. However, you can get them at a discounted price in the end-of-season sale, or if you want simple embroidery, try the methods mentioned above and make your boring clothes stand out.
