Having a blog about embroidery is quite similar to writing recipe blogs. The process entails educating your audience of the craft, taking macro shots of the product (before and after) and making certain that your readers can very much understand your blog especially if you are writing tutorials.

I’ve been visiting and avidly reading online several embroidery blogs and appreciated the patience these writers have put into posting their blogposts. It’s a tough job but someone’s gotta it!

Thought I’d share the Top Embroidery blogs that I bookmarked in my browser and hope you visit them as well.

1.    http://kittyandmedesigns.blogspot.com/ - Pam Kellog is a lover of quilting and cats. She constantly writes about the projects she makes every season and takes photos of the end product.
2.    http://www.needlenthread.com – Mary Corbet’s blog about stitching gives very detailed photos and illustrations of the craft.
3.    http://www.feelingstitchy.com  - Feeling Stitchy is edited by floresita and written by a diverse group of volunteer craft bloggers who contribute weekly, monthly, or from time to time.
4.    http://dmc-threads.com - Blogger Emma Broidery is DMC's crafty stitching writer. She loves to stitch wants to spread the word on how stitching and creating are key to a beautiful fulfilling life.
5.    http://www.sublimestitching.com/blogs/news - Sublime Stitching is the original, independent DIY company that introduced pinups, robots, tattoos and some rock-and-roll to embroidery design. Their blog is written by Jenny Hart, the founder and owner, Courtney Camera, and Stephanie Warren.
6.    http://www.embroideryasart.com – The personal blog of Jenny Hart
7.    http://blog.polkaandbloom.com/ - Carina Envoldsen-Harris is a UK-based embroidery pattern designer and craft blogger. Under the name Polka & Bloom, Carina designs colorful, free form embroidery designs inspired by folk art and design of her native Denmark.
8.    http://www.nancyzieman.com/blog/ - She’s an author and a designer for The McCall Pattern Company and Clover Needlecraft. Check out for video tutorials in her blog, too.
9.    http://msmcporkchopquilts.com/ I love how simple this blog yet has a lot of stuff to learn when it comes to embroidery and stitching.
10.    http://blog.craftzine.com/ - This blog gives us a lot of ideas to work with when it comes to embroidery. 

Happy blog hopping!

Ever had the dilemma of trying to figure out what is the best machine to ever get started with a hobby that might turn into a potential thriving business in the future? Perhaps it is time to think about the possibilities already especially when you are considering getting into the embroidery design business.

There are so many shops out that there that sell the kind of machine you might need to begin your journey. Businesses that operate with a head down mentality (running embroidery machines) have already used certain types of machines that cater to their kind of volume. For example if you require only 2-10 kinds of production, then you wouldn’t be needing the big guns.

If – and if you have progressed already to an industrial state of mind, then this is entirely a different thing. You can use a commercial computerized embroidery machine that is larger and faster. 
 Check these machines out. While others are for mass produced items, there is always an embroidery machine out there that you can use at home.Guess which is from big major machine players like Coldesi or Brother?

Formats Used For Embroidery Services

I have read an article lately on companies who offer embroidery services and a lot of them all have the same things in common: quality of materials, excellent service and fast turnaround. The question here is, if a company is good is supplying the best embroidery service, what is the most important qualification these companies should have?




A priority would be the kind of format they use to produce them. If you are unsure of what to check, the following formats should be used for embroidery services:

CorelDraw

    CorelDraw
    All versions up to X4 supported
    File Formats .cdr
    All fonts should be converted to curves

This search has brought me so near yet so far. Everything looks gorgeous on fabric yet not everyone knows anything about its process and how much effort it took to actually produce such customized clothing.

So what are the kinds of printing techniques? Do customised clothing need be complicated, or as colorful or as chemically-involved as the over. So far, here are the printing techniques that we are going to be studying as this blog progresses.

1.    Screen Printing
2.    Digital Printing
3.    Hand printing
4.    Fabric Screen Printing
5.    Textile Printing
6.    Inkjet Printing on Fabric - Forget about printing on some transfer paper and then ironing it onto some fabric. With some freezer paper you can print right on the fabric itself .
7.    Flock Printed Silk Fabric
8.    Hand block printing
9.    Perrotine printing
10.    Engraved copperplate printing
11.    Roller printing, cylinder printing, or machine printing
12.    Stencil printing
13.    Digital textile printing

If you happen to have more to add, please do not hesitate. I would welcome feedback and comments. Email me directly, too, at customclothe@yahoo.co.nz. Till next! Can’t wait what we can come up with.

This is going to be a first of the many ventures of a retail fixation that I have with fabrics, textiles and all kinds of methods to manufacture customized fabric.

I know it is going to be verrry extensive especially when I want to check out the market and industry in New Zealand but I am definitely in this for the long haul. I cannot wait to try and test what is out there. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts of the subject matter that I will be discussing and studying as this blog progresses – please, your input and feedback is HIGHLY appreciated.

In the next surge of topics that will populate this page, the topics that I would like to be more of an expert on will be fabric printing, screen printing, embroidery designs and custom clothing. I am definitely not an expert which is why I really value all the input anyone could ever give to this site.

Let’s talk soon!

Gianna