A Beginners Guide to Embroidering Napkins

We’re sharing a beginners guide to embroidering napkins as we team up with so many talented ladies for the Handcrafted Society Blog Hop.

If you’ve been following along on this monthly Handcrafted Society Series, you may remember our theme in February was “Wood”, and I made a Stenciled Bee Tray.

Our theme in March was “Spring Door Décor,” and I shared our Spring Front Door Flower Bunny Basket.

This month, our theme is embroidery floss.

And of all the topics we plan to cover this year, this is probably the one I’m most excited about because I’ve wanted to learn embroidery FOREVER.

I just kept putting it off because it seemed complicated and time consuming.

Thankfully, it was way easier than I imagined.

Here’s a look at a beginners guide to embroidering napkins, if you’ve been wanting to learn too…

A Beginners Guide to Embroidering Napkins Supply List:

• Napkins (we found these in the needle crafting section at Hobby Lobby)
• Water Soluble Pattern Stickers (we found these on Etsy)
• Embroidery Hoop
• Embroidery Floss
• Embroidery Scissors
• Embroidery Needle
• Bowl of Water

A Beginners Guide to Embroidering Napkins Steps:

Choosing Your Supplies…

The first step is to decide what color napkins, needle, and thread you want to use.

Then choose a design or pattern to embroider on your napkins.

I chose a simple monogram from Hoop Art Stitch on Etsy.

It’s a great place to start if you also have little to no experience sewing or needlepointing.

Prepping Your Needle and Thread for Embroidering Napkins…

Cut a piece of floss from your embroidery thread skein.

Then pull out 2-6 strands of floss.

I used 2 strands but wish I would have used 3. 

Next, knot one end of your floss.

Use caution and care as you thread the other end through the eye of your needle.

Getting Started…

Afterwards, decide where you want your monogram or pattern to be placed on your napkin.

To keep things easy, I decided to place my monogram on a typical quarter fold. 

Once you’re ready to begin embroidering napkins, secure the hoop on the fabric.

Then peel off the paper portion of your pattern sticker and place the printed portion of the sticker in the middle of your embroidery hoop.

Press down slightly to make sure your pattern sticker is secure.

Now you’re ready to embroider your napkins.

A Beginners Guide to Embroidering Napkins and Using Basic Stitches…

Again, to keep things simple, I used a straight stitch and a satin stitch throughout this process.

The Spruce Crafts has a great post, 15 Stitches Every Embroiderer Should Know, that explains all the differnt stitches.

A straight stitch is as basic as it sounds.

You bring the needle and thread up through the back of the fabric and down through the front of the fabric.

A satin stitch is a series of straight stitches that have been worked next to each other. 

They’re great for filling in a specific areas like the letter on a monogram.

Continue to stitch around your pattern until you have completed the entire design.

Remember to tie off the end of your final stitch with a knot or when you have about 6 inches of thread left.

Washing Off the Pattern Sticker…

After you’ve finished embroidering the napkin, remove the embroidery hoop.

Fill a bowl or a small bin with warm water.

Submerge the napkin.

Then wait for the water-soluble sticker to completely dissolve.

You’ll see little bits that look like glue floating around.

Remove the napkin from the water and allow it to dry.

Next, using caution and care, steam or iron out any wrinkles from your embroidered napkin.

Now you’re ready to enjoy!

A Beginners Guide to Embroidering Napkins: How Long Do These Take to Complete… 

I made embroidering napkins part of my nightly routine.

So, each night just before I went to bed, I stitched for 30 minutes to an hour.

It took me about 4 weeks to do 4 napkins in part because there are a lot of little flowers.

If you’re only stitching the monogrammed letter, it would probably only take you about 4 nights to embroider 4 napkins.

All in all, I’m excited about the way these came together and that I’ve finally made embroidering napkins a priority.

I truly look forward to stitching every day now and I can’t wait to start another project!

Let us know if you decided to try your hand at embroidering napkins too!

Handcrafted Society Blog Hop Inspiration….

For more ideas from the ladies of the Handcrafted Society be sure to check out these projects:

Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Many blessings,

CoCo