Sheer fabrics are traditional favorites for special-occasion garments and sophisticated home decor. On their own, they're beautiful, but I also love the look of delicate machine-embroidered designs floating on a transparent background. And even if you don't have an embroidery machine, you can achieve lovely effects on sheers with decorative stitches from your sewing machine. Although the process of stitching a design on an ethereal, tissuelike fabric may seem destined for failure, there are really only three basic problems you might encounter: pulls or puckers in the fabric around the design, holes created by the needle or the embroidery itself, and misalignment of the stitches (see photo at right). The good news is that all of these problems can be solved with the right choice of motif, equipment, and materials. I'll explain how to select the proper needle, thread, stabilizer, and design needed to make your embroidery project a success. For additional technical hints, see "Be gentle with fabric and thread" at right.
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