Embroidery Wiki: Tested Materials & Common Problems 🔍
We test materials for you 🔍, share our experiences and practical tips, and link to useful tutorials to help you get the best results from your embroidery projects.

Material Tests 🔍
We test selected products for you and share our experiences, practical tips, and useful resources. 
 💡 Beginners: Learn which materials to use and how embroidery works at Make Ma (no payment received; tutorials are just very well explained) : tutorials and material tests included. 
 Embroidery Fabrics 
 Fabrics we have tested and their suitability for different embroidery techniques. 
 
 
 
 Material & Description 
 Photo 
 Notes & Tips 
 
 
 
 
 Cotton fabrics: Versatile and easy-to-embroider fabric 
 
 A very beginner-friendly material 
 
 
 Muslin: Lightweight, absorbent, and breathable cotton fabric 
 
 A very beginner-friendly material 
 
 
 Softshell: Soft, flexible, and slightly stretchy fabric for embroidery. 
 
 For waterproof fabrics, use heat-activated seam sealing tape on the inside to keep the fabric waterproof after embroidery. Hint: For thin waterproof fabrics, do not tear off the stabilizer by hand after finishing the embroidery. Use scissors instead, as hand-tearing may create large holes due to the fabric’s fragility. 
 
 
 Terry cloth (Towel fabric / Nicky): A fluffy, looped fabric with small loops. 
 
 Use water-soluble stabilizer underneath, and a water-soluble topping on top for a smoother embroidery finish. 
 
 
 Soft Thin Leather: Flexible, lightweight leather suitable for embroidery. 
 
 Use only soft, thin leather; avoid thick or stiff leather , as it is difficult to embroider and may damage our machine or needles. 
 
 
 Jersey: Soft, knitted, and stretchable fabric commonly used for T-shirts and clothing. 
 
 Jersey is stretchy , which makes it more difficult to embroider. Always stabilize it well using a cut-away stabilizer or fusible interfacing . This prevents the fabric from stretching or shifting during embroidery and helps avoid puckering or distorted designs. Tip: For very stretchy fabrics, you can additionally use a water-soluble topping on top of the fabric for cleaner stitch results. 
 
 
 
 
 🚧 Further testing results coming soon 
 
 Stabilizers & Backings 
 Tested stabilizers for different embroidery use cases. 
 
 🚧 Testing results coming soon 
 
 Effect Materials 
 Special materials for embroidery effects, such as 3D foam, batting (wadding), reflective films, and other experimental materials. 
 
 
 🚧 Testing results coming soon

Common Problems  ⚠️🧐
Here we collect issues that occur frequently, so you can avoid them and have a smoother embroidery experience. 
 
 Incorrect or dull needles 
 Stabilizer and fabric are not properly tensioned in the embroidery hoop 
 The bobbin is not evenly wound. 
 
 
 🚧 Coming soon…

InkStitch: Tutorials and Links 💻
Here you will find tutorials for creating your own embroidery files, using InkStitch, and other helpful links. Tutorials and resources will be added in the future. 
 
 🚧 Tutorials and resources coming soon…