Embroidered items make excellent gifts. They have a handmade feel, and you can personalise almost anything with some simple stitching and make it particular to the person receiving it.
Baby blankets
Embroidered baby blankets make a wonderful personalised gift that gets kept for years – often long past childhood.
You can either make the blanket yourself or buy a plain one and add the embroidery, which is a perfectly legitimate shortcut and produces an equally treasured result.
A name and a date of birth in a corner is the classic and it is classic because it works. It is what turns a blanket into that child’s blanket.
Use washable thread and a soft blanket, and keep the stitching flat on the back so nothing catches.
Table linen
Napkins, runners, tablecloths and placemats all take embroidery well, and they are used rather than stored.
A set of napkins with a small motif in one corner looks considered and takes an evening. A monogram on a tablecloth turns an ordinary bought one into an heirloom.
Adding to bought items
This is the most efficient route to a personal gift, and it deserves more credit than it gets.
A plain tea towel, a canvas bag, a cushion cover, a dressing gown, a set of handkerchiefs – any of these becomes personal with a name, a motif or a small design. You get the effect of handmade for a fraction of the work.
It is also a good way to rescue something with a stain: embroider over it.
Hoop art
A design worked and left in its hoop, ready to hang. Quick, inexpensive, and it suits a short quotation or a small illustration.
Choosing a design for a person
This is where an embroidered gift is won or lost.
A name, a date, an initial, a place they love, a reference only they will get. Specificity is the point – a generic floral motif is pleasant, a reference to something particular gets kept.
Practical notes
Use washable thread on anything that will be laundered, and wash a test piece if the colours are strong.
Keep the back tidy. Long carried strands show through pale fabric and catch on things.
Press before giving. From the back, on a towel, so the stitches are not flattened.
Start early. Hand embroidery takes longer than it looks, and a rushed piece shows.
For a beginner
Backstitch, satin stitch and French knots between them cover an enormous amount of ground. A name in backstitch is achievable on a first attempt and looks entirely competent.
