Embroidery Fabric

It can be completely overwhelming the first time you walk into a hobby store to buy embroidery fabric, there are so many different types to choose from, in a huge array of different colours, not to mention all the different names.

The most common embroidery fabric you will come across is Aida. Aida is an even-weave fabric, which means there are an equal number of threads vertically as there is horizontally. Aida is a 100% cotton fabric, and the majority of its use is for Cross-stitch embroidery. The most common sizes are 14 count and 16 count Aida (the count refers to the number of threads per inch). Aida is readily available in most hobby stores, an is normally available in quite a number of colours. Aida is a lovely fabric to work with, however it is not a delicate fabric and for pieces of great value or garments it is not suitable. Hardanger and canvas as also types of even-weave fabric that are suitable for counted-thread embroidery, however, these can sometimes be more expensive and often harder to find. If you can ask your local hobby store for a sample of all of their embroidery fabrics, then do, as this will give you an idea of what you can expect from the fabric, i.e. the way it feels, the way it looks and how easy it is to work with.

When the thread counts start to get higher the weave of the fabric will generally be higher. If you have plans on making a memorable piece or a keepsake, then you are best to look for a higher count fabric, one such as linen would be ideal. Linen was used for embroidery for hundreds of years, as it was the basis for most items of clothing, such as shirts, collars, cuffs, and often bed linen. You will find most types of embroidery linen to buy quite expensive if you purchase them in a hobby store, however you may find that purchasing linen from a fabric store will cost you a lot less. Embroidery linen, is normally cut to size, often in a square or rectangle shape, and then it is packaged, and the price increased four fold (often embroidery fabric is treated with starch to make it stiffer for embroidery). However, linen fabric can be brought off the roll at all most all fabric stores. The only large problem you will find by buying fabric off the roll from fabric stores, is that it is general purpose, not embroidery, so therefore, the fabric will not have a thread count numbered on it. The average thread count for linen is 22 – 26 count. I would suggest if you intend to purchase in your local fabric store rather than hobby store then taking a ruler and counting the threads per inch, may be advisable. The biggest benefit from buying your embroidery fabric this way, is you are not limited to the size of a pre-cut piece of embroidery fabric. Often the width of fabric on a roll is just over a meter wide, and the length of the fabric is normally as long as you want it (as long as there is enough fabric left on the roll!), however the fabric is normally purchased in meters or half meters (or yards, depending on where you live), which does mean if you’re only after a small piece you may be better off buying from the hobby store.

The fabrics mentioned above are generally always used for embroidery, however, you could use any fabric with a good weave to perform embroidery. You may not be able to perform counted-thread embroidery on other fabrics, but what you will be able to do is to explore with free form embroidery and let you imagination run wild.

If you are looking for fabric for a Blackwork piece, I would recommend starting with Aida fabric, so you can get used to the technique, without having to worry about the number of threads, once you are happy that you have the technique correct, then your best fabric to use would be linen. You can use the finished linen piece for almost anything, you could mount it of display on a wall, a cushion or even on a cherished item of clothing.