I was asked the other day what was the first thing that I had ever embroidered. I knew exactly what it was. I had just bought a second hand machine. I had also bought some thread - black, white, red, blue, yellow and green. I thought that would be all I needed!! The picture is the result. The shirt has either shrunk or I have grown out of it. I think the latter is correct.

Hi Sarah, I don't remember my very first design on my first Husqvarna Quilter ll. I did more patchwork on it than use the designs which were fiddly to do as there was a D-card reader and it used to annoy the you know what out of me!!! I think the first thing I did with my Husqvarna Designer 1 was a hand towel for the bathroom with a yellow sunflower and I don't like sunflowers! I do remember my first hand work item though and I still have it. It is a needle book holder with just stitch designs on it, it was done on something like hessian (burlap) or something like that. Love Chris

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by airyfairy 07 Mar 2016

Thank you Chris. I have loved all the stories.

I remember I had to go to " another city" for some special eye treatment.
My DH had parked in front of a quilt and machine shop and after my appointment we went in and I came out with a Brother embroidery / sewing machine. This was a small edition but I remember the next morning in my PJs embroidering a small raccoon on a shirt. I was so excited. That was a total change of things for me. I still have that PE300S but have progressed a lot since then and a lot of that progress is because of the help and guidance from " Cuties". I will always be indebted and thankful for such wonderful online friends and their help.
Hugs, Nadyne

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by airyfairy 07 Mar 2016

Love.y story - thank you Nadyne

Google probably won't have anything. Armstrong is my word for what I did. There were several books written about this. I think Fanning one of the authors.

SQ

My first machine embroidery was the old "armstrong" method before the computerized machines. It was a cute kitten face off a greeting card. In those days we used the hand embroidery hoop. I had a little brass spring that went over the needle and when the needle went down the spring held the fabric so it didn't move and a stitch formed. You moved the hoop by hand and used a straight stitch. Boy have we come a long way





Guess I won't go back to that.





SQ

PS GOT MY 180 e used in 1999. We still going strong.
160 miles from dealers so I am self taught.

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by airyfairy 06 Mar 2016

I have not heard of this. Would love to know more. I am going to Google it.

I did not have a computer so I suppose it was a built in design or one from a card as the dealer gave a special price on those cards. I remember stitching a quilt design in a terry towel. Ha Ha!! I think we all stitched on terry towels as that is not the easiest thing to start with. I also remember stitching on my kitchen towels, no matter how old they were. My first blanks!!! Kay

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by airyfairy 06 Mar 2016

My first little machine also had a few built in stitches but I also bought some second hand cards. Luckily I managed to sell all the cards later.

I am sure my first project was on denim because I didn't want to mess up my GOOD STUFF :) It seems like I am very sure of that - LOL ... FIESTA ANYHOW ;D

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by airyfairy 06 Mar 2016

Denim is great to embroider on.

First machine embroidery an appliqued flower on a kitchen towel in my first class the day I bought the machine. We took the machine out of the box and set it on the table and I joined an already scheduled class. My first hand embroidery, some wavy lines my Mother drew in pencil on a pillowcase, and my second, a Brownie Scout brown sampler which I still have.

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by airyfairy 06 Mar 2016

I am so surprised that so many of us remember what we first embroidered but you can remember your hand embroidery.

I know it was the built in designs that I practiced on scrap fabric. I can remember the first design I ever bought. It was the fsl cardinal from emblibrary. How long have you been machine embroidering? I bought my first machine in 2007 with no knowledge of what I was doing, never had a class or even anyone to teach me. I have come a long way since then. And I'm still learning.

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by airyfairy 06 Mar 2016

I think I started in 2008. I bought my second hand machine in my Bernina Shop. I had gone in there to buy a reel of ordinary cotton. Got talking to the lady there and she told me she was selling her old machine. With that she rushed home and came back with the machine. I bought it with my six threads and some stabilizer. When I returned home my DH said you will never use it - the rest as they say is history.

The first thing I embroidered was my grand daughters name on a little bag.

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by airyfairy 06 Mar 2016

That was brave. It was a long time before I plucked up the courage to do names.

I played with designs that were on my 1st Bablylock machine. I wanted to get comfortable with the machine before I tried embroidering anything useful. I love your shirt. I'm so sorry it shrunk!

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by airyfairy 06 Mar 2016

I also did a lot of playing, as I have never has a lesson. I have learnt so much from Cute.

This is a very pretty first project! I can't remember my first... I do remember that I wasn't real successful at first (I didn't read up on how to do things... I just dove it). Many tries later and some reading... things are much better.

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by airyfairy 06 Mar 2016

I am a great reader of instruction books. I never try anything until I have read the instructions. It always helps I think.

I remember it well. It was a fluffy hand towel that I struggled with because I thought I had to hoop it. I know better now and I still have it.

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by airyfairy 06 Mar 2016

I have to admit that I have never hooped anything because I think you need four hands to do this. I have heard of hoops being broken with towels.

My mum put a transfer on a traycloth for me to embroider when I was about 5, but I couldn't tell you what the first thing I machine embroidered was.
Looking forward to seeing other people's replies.

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by crafter2243 edited 05 Mar 2016

As far as hand embroidery is concerned, I had to do a sampler. Part of school curriculum
.

by katydid 05 Mar 2016

We did not have any hand sewing in my Home Economics classes. I wish we had.

by airyfairy 06 Mar 2016

My daughter still has one of my dolls with the clothes that I made her when I was small. Every time I see the doll, I think I must make her some decent clothes. Still thinking about that one.