If you've been embroidering a little while, then you may be thinking that the next step for you is to improve your embroidery a teeny bit more.

Now, if you know me (hi, I'm Sophie by the way!), then you'll know that two of my many mottos are 'progress over perfection' and 'practice makes improvement'. 

It's my core belief that creative hobbies shouldn't be perfect. They're there for you to have some time for yourself, to enjoy a hobby and make something fun with your own two hands! And if you keep practicing, naturally you will improve!

So, this isn't a blog post to tell you that everything you've been doing is wrong, and that you absolutely ~must~ implement these tips if you want to continue embroidering. Nope! This is a blog post to encourage you to keep on learning, if that's what you want to do!

Let's get into those ways you can instantly improve your embroidery, shall we?

1. Being neater with your stitching

You're probably shaking your head right now and thinking, "well, duh, that's why I'm here!", so if you are, then let's get into that real quick.

You can instantly improve your embroidery by actively trying harder to make your stitches a bit neater. That means slowing down, not rushing, and just taking your time with your stitches. After all, embroidery is a slow craft, and that's kinda the whole point!

When you rush, you run the risk of being slightly 'sloppy' with your stitches, which in turn results in them not being very neat. 

Just taking that extra bit of time to be 'neat' can instantly improve the overall look of your embroidery. 

2. Precise needle placement

On the lines of being neater with stitching, one of the ways that you can be more neat is to be more precise with your needle placement. 

If you're not sure what I mean by 'needle placement' - you know when you need to bring the needle up from the back of the fabric, and you can't see where you're bringing your needle up, and you have to guess-timate where to bring it up?

Well, you can come up through the fabric as many times as you need in order to ensure that it is exactly the place you want it to be. You don't have to get it right on the first try! That extra precision makes allll the difference with how neat your embroidery looks, and can instantly improve your embroidery.

3. Focusing on stitch direction

Another simple but effective way to instantly improve your embroidery is by focusing on stitch direction. And yep, that literally means the direction of your stitches!

Stitch direction is mostly important when you're using the satin stitch or the long and short stitch, when you're filling in a larger shape with stitches. 

Floral embroidery is a great example for when stitch direction can really improve the overall look of your embroidery.

If you take a look at the image above, you'll see that for the purple flower petals, the stitches naturally curve with the shape of the petal, and all point inwards towards the centre of the flower. This is an example of stitch direction! In contrast, the pink photo shows 'incorrect' stitch direction.

Rather than doing a bunch of stitches in the exact same angle, you're able to improve the appearance of your embroidery immediately.

(Psstt.. did you know that we teach all of these skills and more inside Bloom Embroidery Academy?! Yup, that photo above was a 4-part workshop all about stitch direction!! Click here to find out more about how you can join Bloom 🌸)

4. Choosing the best quality supplies

Once you have improved your embroidery, it's time to move to the things you're stitching with. 

Embroidering with the best quality embroidery supplies can instantly improve the look of your overall embroidery. 

Here is a blog post all about the essential embroidery supplies, but let's go over it super quick just in case:

Fabric

Use the appropriate fabric for embroidery, which is either 100% cotton or 100% linen, or a cotton-linen blend. Using the correct fabric minimises the risk of the fabric puckering, avoids over-stretching, and many other reasons. 

Hoops

When you use good quality embroidery hoops, the fabric is able to stay taut in the hoop, even during your stitching.

Poor quality hoops often cause the fabric to become loose during stitching, which 1) results in your embroidery piece not looking as good because the fabric is slack, and 2) makes it really difficult to stitch, which will then have an impact on being neat with your stitches!

Thread

DMC has always been and will always be the best brand of embroidery thread out there. There, I said it!

Their range of colours is beyond stunning, and they are such high quality threads that are totally worth investing in. Using this silky, smooth and shining thread has a huge impact on how neat and professional your stitches can look, and is a sure-fire way to instantly improve your embroidery.

(P.S. I can save you time searching for the best supplies! Our Embroidery Supplies Kit is perfect for when you're just starting out, or to top up on your essential supplies. They include only the highest quality embroidery hoops, fabric, needles and other supplies, that can be delivered straight to your door!)

So, there are 4 ways that you can really simply improve your embroidery, just by making some minor adjustments to the way that you currently embroider. 

Are these helpful? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Pssstt! Techniques like these are exactly what we cover in our online embroidery membership, Bloom Embroidery Academy. We teach all kinds of embroidery stitches and techniques, and guide you and our community of stitchers on how to improve your embroidery, learn new things and access a huge bunch of patterns and projects in the meantime. Head to www.bloomembroideryacademy.com to find out more!