project // embroidered facts sweatshirt

Have you ever embroidered a sweatshirt or hoodie? It's a really fun way to add something to one of the cuddliest pieces of clothing in your closet. My sister recently asked me to embellish a new hooded sweatshirt for her, and since she doesn't ask for embroidery often (maybe ever?) I jumped at the chance. When I first mentioned this project on Instagram, someone said they'd love to see and hear about how to embroider a sweatshirt, so here we are!



My sister wanted her hoodie to say "FACTS" because it's become a favorite thing for her to say, inspired by the TikTok personality Bentellect. We talked about where to stitch the word, and she settled on the sleeve so it isn't quite front and center, but it's easy to show off. A sleeve isn't the easiest place to stitch on a shirt of any kind, but I made it work and I'd do it again! In fact, I may replicate this for myself one day soon.

Ready to give this a try?



You will need:

Sweatshirt/Hoodie
Embroidery Floss
Sharp Needle
Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy (or your favorite transfer method for working on dark/thick fabrics)

If you'd like to stitch a FACTS sweatshirt, you can also grab the pattern below...or stitch whatever you like!

DOWNLOAD THE FACTS PATTERN PDF



Print the pattern on the Sticky Fabri-Solvy. I'd recommend my tip for saving on materials since this is a small design on a large page.

Peel off the backing and stick the pattern piece onto the sweatshirt. It can really help to get the placement right if someone is wearing the sweatshirt.



Now you just embroider like you would anything else! Okay, that's not exactly true.

First, I find that it's better to stitch without an embroidery hoop for this. Normally, that's not what I would recommend. But it will prevent the fabric from stretching. It's also going to be tricky to get a hoop around the word in the sleeve. Not impossible, but tricky.

Second, because the sleeve isn't exactly easy to get your hands in and out of, stitching with the stabbing method isn't ideal even though I prefer it for embroidery. The sewing method means you can keep your dominant hand on the surface of the fabric the entire time. Use your non-dominant hand to hold the fabric and feel that the needle is going all the way through the thick fabric from underneath.

Finally, make sure you don't pull the stitches too tight. Let the Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy act as the stabilizer that it is. As long as it isn't pulling or puckering, you're good.



After you finish the embroidery, soak it to remove the Fabri-Solvy. I tried very hard to only soak the sleeve, but guess what...the fabric is super absorbant and I had a very wet sweatshirt sitting on the counter! Be prepared for this.




After it dried, by sister was eager to start wearing it and she's been wearing it a ton! I keep checking it with every wash cycle and it's holding up so well. The stitches still look fantastic. And if you're curious, I used knots with longer tails for this. As best as I could, I stitched over and wove in the tails so there's extra security and nothing comes undone.

So what are you waiting for? Go add something fun to your favorite hoodie!