Embroidery is a popular art involving stitching fabric designs using skill and thread.
The growing demand for customized embroidery has seen many people joining the art as a hobby or as a home business.
If you are interested in starting embroidery, you might wonder how much you will need to spend.
So, How Expensive Is Embroidery as A Hobby?
Embroidery is a significantly inexpensive craft compared to other artistic hobbies. You only require a few kinds of stuff to get started. However, it can also be pretty expensive if you go for high-end materials and an embroidery machine.
Five Supplies Need By Embroidery Beginners
As a beginner, it is recommendable to try embroidery without investing much money in high-end materials or specialty tools. These include:
1. Fabric
One of the basic materials you need in embroidery is fabric.
You can embroider on any fabric you have on hand, including; canvas bags, fabric garments, tennis shoes, baseball, etc.
Embroidery as a hobby is an excellent way of giving old clothes a second life without spending a lot of money.
If you have no fabric on hand, you can purchase cotton broadcloth sheets that go for around $10 to $15 per yard.
As a beginner getting started in embroidery, light-colored woven fabrics such as white cotton are a good option.
2. Hoop
Hoops are essential in hand embroidery to hold the fabric taut and prevent the final design from accidentally becoming stretched or warped.
While hoops are available in many different types and sizes, wooden and plastic hoops are the most common types.
Bigger hoops are more costly but ideal for full-sized projects such as pillowcases and jackets.
However, it would help if you considered having several different hoop sizes to enable you to work on a different range of materials.
3. Thread
The common types of thread used in embroidery are polyester or cotton embroidery floss.
These thread types have a broad range of finishes and colors, including metallic and glossy options.
Normally, floss is very affordable and is sold in spools or skeins.
When starting hand embroidery as a hobby, you can purchase more than a hundred skeins with different colors for around $15.
However, high-end threads made from premium materials such as silk or metals are more expensive.
4. Needle
Like the fabric, thread, and hoop, a needle is essential for embroidery.
It is important to get numerous needles in different sizes to work on various projects and designs.
More intricate designs require smaller needles, while other techniques such as needle painting need larger needles with bigger eyes.
But generally, any sharp needle will work just effectively, and you can purchase a whole set for very little cash.
5. Scissors And Additional Gear
Lastly, you will require a sharp pair of scissors to cut the ends of the threads.
Additional materials such as fabric pencils and pens and accessories such as sequins and beads can simplify your stitching process and even make your embroidery work stand out.
You can even consider investing in embroidery software.
But these additional accessories are in no way essential for starting embroidery.
What Is the Cost of An Embroidery Machine?
Hand embroidery is a highly affordable and rewarding hobby for you to try out.
However, making embroidery designs by hand can consume a lot of time and is best suited for creative and artistic work than for profitable purposes.
If you want to advance your embroidery hobby for commercial business, you should consider investing in an embroidery machine.
A home embroidery machine goes for about $500 to $5000.
If you are only looking to embroider small fabric pieces and do not mind sticking to a few preset patterns and designs, a cheaper embroidery machine will effectively speed up your stitching process and meet your needs.
Can You Make Money from Doing Embroidery?
While you might start embroidery as a hobby, you can start making money by selling your creations once you advance your skills.
Home-based embroidery business has the potential of giving a lot of profits. There are lots of people looking for embroidery for their projects and companies.
Therefore, if you can market yourself properly and price your embroidery creations reasonably, you can make a good amount of profit.
On the other hand, if you are looking to create your own designs, do different stitching types, or do logo work, you will need to spend around $1000- $5000 on more high-end machines.
These high-quality machines are integrated with their own software, making them more suited for custom embroidery business and commercial needs.
How Much Should You Sell Your Homemade Embroidery Work?
If you have advanced your embroidery hobby to start making profits, as stated above, you might wonder how much you should charge for your homemade work.
While the commercial embroidery shops determine their prices depending on digitalization costs, thread color changes, and stitch count, these factors are not always practicable for home embroiders.
While using the embroidery machine, you can use the pricing calculator to evaluate a profitable price per 1000 stitches.
If you are doing hand embroidery, you can estimate the price of your work based on the time you spend on every piece.
However, ensure to compare the price with other handmade products and alter the costs accordingly.
Bottom Line
Generally, how expensive embroidery is as a hobby will primarily depend on the materials you will use and the intricacy of the embroidery design you intend to make.
Although hand embroidery is a relatively low-cost hobby, the costs linked with buying custom work or setting up your small business might accumulate pretty fast.
So, ensure you consider all the reviewed and associated costs before starting embroidery as a hobby.
References
How expensive “really” is home embroidery? – PatternReview.com