Jenny of ELEFANTZ: sewing tools 2015

UPDATED January 14th, 2024

I'm often asked what my favourite stitching supplies are, so today I thought we'd chat a bit about what I use, and why...

Fabric backgrounds for hand embroidery:

Back in late 2005 when I first began playing with needle and thread, calico or homespun were my normal go-to surface to lay down some pretty stitches, but over the past decade with the dramatic increase of interest in the gentle arts of embroidery and quilting by a younger generation more lovely options have become available to us craftswomen.

Like the lovely cotton/linen blend I tend to use more than any other. In Australia this is called 'hanky linen' and is available in most quilt shops as well as online, but the strange thing about this fabric is its name - 'hanky linen'. Purchasing it based on what it is called we'd immediately imagine a fabric that is fine, whisper thin, lighter-than-air, right? But it's not.

It feels like pure linen, is sturdy, but lovely and soft. Hanky Linen is a 55% cotton/45% linen blend and is found in almost all Australian quilt shops. You can have a look here for an example, though most online quilt shops will have it in my country.

Another option for a cotton/linen blend is from Devonstone Fabrics, who recently released their own cotton/linen blend range in Australia, and have far more colours to choose from. You can have a look here for examples, but again, many online shops in Australia will stock it.

Overseas it may be easier to use Essex Linen by Robert Kaufman which is also a cotton/linen blend, though not quite as light as what we use in Australia, but still good to stitch on.

I also use 100% linen sometimes. It depends on the project, or what I have on hand...

Pure linen is quite expensive, but not if you browse the racks of your local charity shop (goodwill/op-shop). I have a stack of lovely linen on my shelves cut from shirts, pants and skirts I purchased for a few dollars and because it's been washed and worn the softness is divine...

Other surfaces for stitching are prints. I don't use these a lot, but if I find a fabric that doesn't battle with my embroidery for centre stage I'll definitely have a play with it...

Vintage doilies are another obsession as the background for Elefantz designs...

...and have featured numerous times in my projects.

Fusible Stabiliser:

I do not use a hoop, so after tracing the design onto my surface fabric I fuse a fine fabric stabiliser behind it.

My favourites are Staflex or Whisperweft...

These are not thick backings like Pellon or Parlan, but thinner than your quilting or stitchery fabric and therefore beautiful for gentle hand sewing, adding no stress to fingers or hands (perfect if you suffer arthritis). They have a very fine layer of adhesive on one side and you iron that behind your traced design before you begin the stitching.

Whisperweft has a weave and drapes with your fabric. It used to be found in many quilting stores across Australia, but if you are overseas it's a little difficult to track down but you could try HERE.

Staflex 3045 is available in most quilt shops throughout Australia, but overseas you may need to ask. It's like fine fabric tissue paper with minimal adhesive on one side. Perhaps your store may stock it under a different name? Remember when you describe it, that it's as fine as tissue paper, not writing paper.

Needles:

I use Birch size 9 or 10.

These are inexpensive and never fault me!
If you are new to embroidery you may prefer to stitch with a size 7 or 8 as they are a little larger.

Threads:

I think it's very important that you choose a good brand of 6-strand floss/thread.

In the past I've dabbled with the generic or cheaper brands and immediately I can tell that they will be trouble - perishing quickly from being pulled through fabric and needle eyes, and knotting again and again. They frustrate and waste money so I choose to only stitch with reputable brands that have been tested over and over by my own handiwork.

I really like the variety of colours in the Cosmo range and especially swoon over their variegated Seasons range as they are quite sublime...

...but I also use a lot of lovely DMC. Both seem to be very easy to find worldwide.

Another favourite is Australian 'Cottage Garden Threads' which are hand dyed in glorious colours with names that shout 'I'm Australian' like Galah, Billabong, or Desert Rose.

These threads are quite pricey (around 9 dollars per skein) but perfect for something special or when using a single variegated colour in your project. They are also a very special gift to give.
I do suggest however that you only use the reddish threads in projects which will probably never see the inside of a washing machine (framed embroideries or sewing kits for example, but not table runners) as they tend to run.

When hand quilting I use DMC Perle #12, Precencia Finca Perle #16, or Oren Bayan Perle #12.

Each of these are as lovely as the other and I occasionally stitch a design with the Finca Perle because it's so fine...

A word of caution when purchasing any brand of thread-

They will deteriorate over time if left out in the elements, even hanging for years in a shop.

How do I know?

A craft store came under new management recently and the owner was selling off her rack of DMC threads at 25c per skein just outside the door. I didn't think, just jumped in and bought myself a bundle of 50 skeins whilst Mr E waited patiently nearby.

Clear vision wasn't great at the shop door because of the extremely bright sunlight which made everything 'glare', and there were about a half dozen other women twirling the rack around as they chose their own threads around me, so I just grabbed all the pinks, blues, greens etc that I knew I'd use.

It wasn't until we arrived home and I opened the paper bag to crow over my bargain purchase that I saw how very dis-coloured, even rusted, many of the threads were...

On closer inspection and after trialing some by stitching through fabric many perished after a few tugs through the needle. About 20 of the 50 skeins were obviously unusable so no more 'clear-out' thread sales for me.

Tracing:

When tracing my design onto fabric I only use a Zig Millennium pigma pen (0.3 brown).

This is a permanent pen so the lines will not vanish like air, water or heat erasable pens do if you make a mistake.

However, it glides across the fabric better than anything else I have ever used (and I have tried many)...

In Australia I buy these from an art supply store as they are more affordable than from quilt shops and I buy 10 at a time. (I trace designs almost every day)

UPDATE: As of mid 2017 the Zig Millennium is no longer being manufactured so my next option is the brown Sakura Micron 01 (.25mm) pen but they are a bit expensive here in Australia.
So now I'm hedging back to what I initially traced with a decade ago - the Artline Brown Pigma pen 0.2 which is available at most newsagents and stationers.

I know some people like to use graphite pencils to trace onto fabric (these are still known as lead pencils but there is no lead in pencils these days), however, there is a residue left behind that sullies the thread and the fabric so I never use them.

White and pale colours are never true after stitching over penciled lines.

If you're not confident using a permanent pigma pen choose a good quality air/water erasable one from your craft store.

Warning: Some people like using a Frixion pen because it disappears when heat is applied, but the company who make Frixion warn against this use as it does not disappear completely.
On some fabrics you will clearly see a line if the fabric is held at certain angles - this is especially obvious when used to draw quilting lines. The line also reappears if you put your design into the fridge or freezer, and though we wouldn't normally do that it does bring home the point that the lines have not really disappeared.

As convenient as these pens are, I choose to use one only when marking a line that will be cut - like a fussy cut piece from fabric where the line will be removed or covered afterwards. For that purpose it's great.

Free Design and Tutorial:

I hope I've answered most of the questions that have been emailed or asked via comments so far this year.

If you're new to this craft and would like more help with decorative stitching my detailed tutorial for backstitch and lazy daisy can be found here (with a free practice design)...