This playful retro embroidery design is perfect if you want to stitch names, stars and smiley faces across a garment in your own arrangement. The Loom & Stitch embroidery kit for this tutorial is available at the bottom of the article, and the written steps below will help you build the design one motif at a time.
Arrange the motifs before you start
One of the nicest things about this project is the flexibility. You can spread the motifs across several garments or cluster them together on one piece for a bold, busy finish. Once you are happy with the placement of the stick and stitch patterns, thread the yarn for the name first so the lettering becomes the anchor for the rest of the embroidery.
Use chain stitch for the name
Bring the needle up through the fabric, take it down through the same hole, then bring it up again one stitch length ahead with the yarn looped under the needle. Pull gently to create a neat chain. Repeat along each letter, holding the working yarn to the side with your thumb if it helps the loops form cleanly. When a letter does not naturally join to the next one, finish it, leave a tail, and connect the letters afterwards by threading that tail through a chain on the next letter before securing it on the reverse.
Outline stars and symbols with back stitch
Back stitch gives the symbols a clean, graphic edge that suits the retro look. Make one stitch forward, then bring the needle up a stitch length ahead and take it back down to meet the end of the previous stitch. Continue around each star or small symbol, keeping the stitch lengths even. This stitch is a useful basic technique in any beginner embroidery toolkit.
Shape the smiley faces
Work the round outline of each smiley face in chain stitch, following the curve carefully so the links sit smoothly around the circle. For the mouth, switch back to back stitch to keep the line crisp. Fill the eyes with satin stitch by placing short, close straight stitches side by side until the shape is covered. For any remaining filled motifs in the design, use similarly close straight stitches so the surface looks smooth and the base fabric does not show through.
Tidy the reverse as you go
Every time you finish a colour or a motif, turn the garment over and either knot the meeting tails together or weave a loose tail through the back of nearby stitches. Keeping the reverse tidy will stop the embroidery from catching in wear and will help the front stay flat and polished.
Finish and explore the matching kit
When all of your stars, smileys and lettering are complete, remove the stick and stitch backing according to the instructions for your fabric. This kind of personalised embroidery is ideal for practising a few essential stitches in one project. If you want the matching Loom & Stitch kit for this retro design, browse the associated embroidery kit linked at the bottom of the article.
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