When it comes to styles, what goes around comes around. Embroidered jeans, a style staple of the 1990s, are back again with a vengeance. Embroidery to embellish clothing and as a fancy way of patching has been around for at least 30,000 years. You may have seen people wearing embroidered jeans more often lately and wondered if the embroidered style is for you. The great news is that it is for you because so many types of denim embroidery are available. Let’s take a closer look at this fabulous denim trend.
How to Embroider Jeans
Perhaps you’ve seen embroidered denim jeans and are interested in getting in on the trend. But you might not be sure what kind of embroidery you like or what styles would be flattering. And many people wonder if they should embroider their own jeans or buy already-embroidered jeans. You’ve got embroidery questions, so let’s chat about all things embroidery.
What is Embroidery?
Embroidery is using a needle to decorate or embellish something. Perhaps the most common form of embroidery is using a needle and colored thread to create designs on fabric. From decorative wall hangings to wedding gowns, embroidery is everywhere. In addition, you’ll often see sequins, beads, and other items included as part of the embroidery design. Embroidery artists create beautiful hand and machine embroidery on just about every fabric, and womens denim are no exception.
Be sure to see our other article on how to wash embroidered clothes for helpful care tips for your delicate clothing.
How to Embroider Jeans
You can embroider jeans by hand or with a machine. Both methods are beautiful but produce very different looks. In addition, both hand and machine embroidery can vary widely. If you like the look of machine embroidery, you can do many designs with sewing machines, which often have an array of settings and even programs.
If you love machine embroidery but don’t have a sewing machine or the time, there are many beautifully embroidered options cropping up from designers and clothing producers. Designs range from abstract to fanciful flowers and patchwork.
Finally, you can create DIY embroidered jeans or even embellish a denim jacket with your own colorful designs. To embroider your jeans by hand, you’ll need a few supplies, such as:
- Embroidery floss or embroidery thread in cotton or wool
- A tapestry or embroidery needle
- You may also want to have a seam ripper, embroidery hoop, tracing paper, and a fabric stabilizer on hand
If you opt for hand embroidery, you’ll need to decide if you’ll freehand stitch a design or series of stitches or if you’ll use a pattern. If you choose to use a pattern or want to sketch out a design ahead of time to cover a specific area, that’s where the tracing paper comes in to transfer the pattern to your denim.
Types of Embroidery Designs for Jeans
Denim is a fantastic base for embroidery because of the fabric weight and weave. Because of the durability of denim, you can use many types of needlework, including:
- Cross-stitching: “x” marks the spot! Cross-stitching uses hundreds or thousands of small, crossed stitches to create patterns or pictures.
- Crewelwork: Crewel uses wool threads for many stitches, including the satin stitch, chain stitch, French knots, stem stitch, and split stitch.
- Blackwork: Using embroidery floss, you can achieve blackwork with the Holbein and back stitch to create interesting geometric patterns.
- Freestyle: Freestyle work uses every kind of embroidery stitch, including the running stitch, to create doodles, patterns, and whichever styles they like, all mixed together.
The great thing about jeans is that you can place embroidery on almost every part of them. But some parts of the jean are particularly good for embroidery, including the pockets and legs.
How to Embroider Jean Pockets
The pocket of your jeans is a great place to start your jeans embroidery journey. If you are still learning, you may want to experiment with old jeans first. Remember that larger stitches on clothes will catch and snag on things more easily, so plan to use smaller stitches. You’ll need a sturdy needle since denim is a heavier and thicker fabric. Fortunately, you probably won’t be hooping the area you’re working on—using a wooden hoop to stabilize the material—and most people get used to holding the jeans while they stitch. When embroidering jean pockets, keep these tips in mind:
- Ensure you don’t stitch through multiple layers and accidentally stitch your pocket closed!
- Use backing for lighter-weight thread or machine embroidery
- Select your thread colors ahead of time
- Use tracing paper to help you position your design in the right spot
How to Embroider Flowers on Jeans
From tiny daisies to bold, satin-stitched blooms, flowers are a common embroidery motif and can make your jeans look stunning. You can freehand stitch flowers, use transfer paper, or create flower designs with a sewing machine. First, determine where your flowers will go. You might place brightly colored flowers on your back pockets or have a trail of flowers down one or both pant legs. If you’re new to stitching, try a small border along a pocket or hem with sweet little daisies. If DIY embroidery is challenging, you could always buy your floral embroidered jeans.
DIY Embroidered Jeans vs Buying Embroidered Jeans
Of course, not everyone prefers to DIY embroider their jeans. DIY embroidery, whether by hand or machine, allows you to stitch precisely what you want, where you want. But buying embroidered jeans is a great way to get the look without the time and effort it takes. And stitching can also take a toll on the hands and wrists, but many manufacturers are creating beautiful embroidered designs you can enjoy immediately. In addition, buying embroidered jeans means you can often find intricate and dense designs that are ready to wear.
Where Can You Buy Embroidered Jeans
You might be thinking, “I love this! Where can I buy embroidered jeans?” More designers and companies are offering embroidered jeans these days as the trend continues to catch on. And you can find embroidery on all fits and sizes, from womens skinny jeans to bootcut jeans. But the key is to find a company like Democracy that delivers a flattering, stylish fit and comfort in addition to those gorgeous, embroidered details.
Resources:
https://embroideryonline.com/how-to-machine-embroider-denim-jeans
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/guide-for-hand-embroidery-on-denim