Embroider on Wood! Yes, You Can!

Last week during our Between Friends Facebook Live we had fun embroidering on basswood. Yes, you read that correctly, we embroidered on wood, and we will guide you on how you can also do this!

The first and most important step is selecting the correct wood. The logical choice would be balsa wood. However,  Eileen discovered that basswood is a much better choice since it’s firmer than balsa wood, does not curve as much, and it is still thin enough to embroider.

Here is the list of materials used for this project:

• 85/13 sharp point needle
• Exquisite® Fuse so Soft
• Exquisite Thread 
• Snap Hoop Monster
• Basswood
• Thankful Grateful Blessed – On the House free design

Now that you have all of your materials here are some recommendations we have when embroidering on basswood:

• For stitch type, we suggest using satin stitches – the wider the better.
• If you wish to color the wood you should opt for staining. Since the needle will penetrate the wood, you do not want the wood’s real color to pop up between the stitches. Stain saturates deeper into the grain but it’s a good idea to test first.
• Use Fuse so Soft stabilizer to trap sawdust from falling inside your machine.  You will have some sawdust in the bobbin case but the addition of Fuse so Soft cuts down on excess.
• When it comes to hooping your basswood, there is nothing as strong or sturdy as our Snap Hoop Monsters
• Make sure to clean your machine after embroidering on wood. Use a pipe cleaner with one drop of oil to trap any sawdust or vacuum the inside of the machine. Avoid using compressed air, since it will push sawdust further inside your machine.

You can listen to Eileen go over the steps in the video below, enjoy!