A beginner tutorial for how to embroider a shirt by hand

Hand embroidery on clothes has exploded on social media in the past few years, which is delightful! In my opinion, how polished the finished project looks depends on the preparation and materials you used in stitching it. This post is focusing on embroidering on tshirts made from knit fabric – that means it usually has a little stretch and won’t unravel in the way a button-up dress shirt or denim jeans will if cut.

Keep reading for a step by step tutorial on how to hand sew on your tshirt!

I want to be clear there is no wrong/right way to do this. This is the method that I personally have the highest success rate with! Be sure to read the tips before you start, even if you don’t use my full tutorial. You definitely can just sketch with a pencil and stitch without a hoop or stabilizer, but it makes stitch tension trickier to maintain. Definitely experiment because results vary depending on the thickness and stretchiness of the base garment. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments!

If you like this post, check out these others while you’re here!

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Pin this hand embroidery on tshirt tutorial with this link or picture:

How to embroider a shirt by hand

Supplies:

Wash away fusible transfer material – Stick N Stitch [shop on Amazon or directly from Sulky]
Hand sewing needle
Scissors
Embroidery floss- Sulky cotton petites shown here [shop on Amazon or directly from Sulky]
Hoop larger than the text
Pencil

Steps:

Tips:

Be sure to wash and dry the t-shirt however you plan to wash and dry the finished piece! Depending on the color and brand, you may also want to gently hand wash and dry the embroidery floss pieces so the color doesn’t run. I have not historically had issues with this with DMC or Sulky but can’t vouch for other brands.
The floss I’m using in the example is one strand, if you’re using traditional DMC style floss I’d recommend using 2 or 3 strands, not all 6!
The t-shirt weight and stretchiness are a large factor in how easy or difficult hand embroidery on t-shirts feels; the thicker and less stretchy a shirt is, the easier it will be to stitch on. The thinner and more stretchy the t-shirt is, the more challenging it will be to stitch without distorting the material or ripping holes.
The fusible transfer material helps stabilize the fabric while you stitch without slipping around – it’s not required by any means but will help your stitching stay nice and steady.
I recommend using only simple stitches when stitching on knit tshirts – the denser or more complicated a stitch is, the more challenging it will be without distorting the fabric.
If you have a chest that sticks out further than your ribs, keep in mind that embroidering larger or densely-stitched designs in this area may distort when worn!
If the wearer has sensitive skin, you can add optional embroidery backing like Sulky’s Tender Touch [shop on Amazon or directly on Sulky], which will cover the interior/backside stitches.

Instructions:

Step 1- Find or print the text or design you want (dafont.com is a free resource for text, which is where I got this font, Reman) and trace or print the design out on fusible transfer paper. You can print directly on Stick N Stitch, but you can also just trace on to it, as shown.

Step 2- Peel off the transfer paper backing and smooth it down, and then place the hoop around it. Tighten to keep fabric taut but not as tight as possible, which will distort the fabric.

Step 3- Stitch over your design! A simple back stitch is shown here – a running back stitch, running stitch, and chain stitch all work well for text based designs and outline stitching.

Step 4-Once you’re finished stitching, take the hoop off and trim away the excess transfer material – being careful not to cut through the t-shirt or embroidery floss.

Step 5-Use warm water to rinse away the fusible transfer material and let dry. Do not wring the material, just air dry. You’re done!