DIY Network

Jolene Bouchon's Embroidered Napkin Simple stitching outlines a cow design on a cloth napkin. From "Uncommon Threads" episode DUCT-106

Jolene Bouchon shows her design for a fabric napkin embroidered with a cute cow design that she copied from an online clip-art site. You can use your own design -- children's coloring books are great resources.

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Materials:

Jolene Bouchon's Embroidered Napkin

plain napkins, preferably cotton or linen
fabric marker, tailor's chalk or thin sliver of soap to mark design
straight pins
4" and/or 6" embroidery hoop, depending on size of towel and design
embroidery scissors
assorted embroidery needles
embroidery floss in assorted colors, according to preference

Optional materials:

needle threader
beeswax for coating floss
dressmaker's transfer paper
heat transfer pen
iron, if using heat-transfer method
lightbox or bright window
embroidery stitch book for reference, such as Embroidery Stitch Bible, by Betty Barnden and Debbie Bradley or The Stitch Sampler: The Ultimate Visual Dictionary to Over 200 Classical Stitches by Lucinda Ganderton

Transferring Design

1. Find the location where you'd like to place the designs (Jolene placed hers in the corners).

2. There are several methods you can use to transfer the design, depending on the color and thickness of the napkin:

• If the fabric is light enough, simply place the design behind it and pin in place. Place it over a lightbox or up to a bright window and trace the design, using a fabric marker, tailor's chalk or a thin sliver of soap in a color that will show the design clearly.

  Note: Tailor's chalk is not the best choice but will do in a pinch. Since it's chalky and dusty, it tends to rub off too easily.

• You can also pin the design in place on top of the fabric, then slip a piece of dressmaker's transfer paper between the design and fabric, colored side down. Trace along the lines of the design, pressing hard with a pencil or blunt tip, checking to make sure it is transferring properly.

• If your fabric is too heavy or dark for the above methods, you will need to use the design as a stencil. Pin the paper on top of the fabric as in the step above. Using a fabric marker, poke holes through the lines in the design, making sure the marker draws directly on the fabric. Continue, using the lines in the design as a guide. After the design is transferred, you may want to fill it in by connecting the dots.

• You can make your own heat-transfer pattern that you can iron on. Use a heat-transfer pen, following manufacturer's directions.

  Note: When marking a pattern using the heat-transfer method, a dry iron works better than one on the steam setting.

Embroidering Design

Figure A

1. Once the design is transferred, separate the embroidery hoop. Place the smaller hoop underneath, flat side up. Place the larger hoop over the fabric and slowly tighten the screw, pulling the fabric taut as you do so (figure A).

2. Many embroiderers find it helpful to roll up the excess fabric neatly, folding it around the edge of the hoop and then holding on to the hoop using that fabric buffer. This helps protect fabric, especially if it is delicate, from any oil or dirt on your hands.

3. Now all you need to do is thread the needle and start embroidering. If you're using six-strand embroidery floss, you can divide it into thinner strands, depending on the thickness of lines desired. Jolene chooses to divide her thread in half, using three strands. How you work (from one edge of the design over, from the outside in, etc.) is up to you, as are the stitches you choose to use. You can follow stitches from a book, or you can make up your own--she did a mixture of both.

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