Fabrics 101: Embroidering on Felt

We've all worked with felt at one time or another. But have you ever taken a really, really close look at it? Go ahead. Get it up close to your face. You'll see what makes it so special.

It's not knit, and it's not woven. The fibers are all tangled up together to create a fabric that's irregular on close inspection, but holds together beautifully.

Because of the way it's constructed, felt gets along well with embroidery and can handle the most complex designs without any puckering. It's useful for lots of craft and home decor projects, and is a great choice for making framed pieces, too. Read on and explore the fun of felt!

FABRIC: Wool, polyester, and acrylic felt are all available. Choose what suits your taste and your project. As usual, thicker fabrics will be better able to hold thicker designs.

DESIGN: With the proper stabilizer, most any designs can be stitched on felt - from redwork to heavy, detailed designs.

NEEDLE: A 75/11 sharp sewing needle (which we recommend for most uses) will help you create a crisp, clear stitchout.

STABILIZER: Choose a cutaway stabilizer that suits the intensity of the design. For example, a lightweight no-show mesh cutaway stabilizer would be suitable for a redwork design, while a solid stitch-filled design will look better with the added stability of a medium-weight cutaway stabilizer.

Embroidering on Felt

STABILIZE & HOOP: Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with temporary spray adhesive, and smooth the felt on top.

Embroider the design.

FINISHING: Trim the excess cutaway stabilizer from the back of the embroidery. Your embroidered fabric is now ready to be incorporated into a project and proudly displayed. 

This example is stitched on polyester felt...

And this design is stitched on wool felt. The process is the same. Keep in mind that wool shrinks a lot when washed and dried. After it's embroidered, make sure not to shrink it, or there will be lots of puckering!

Felt can be used in lots of different projects. It's especially nice in wintry creations such as this festive felt stocking!