Table of Contents
Watch the video: “MALVAROSA How To Embroider Your Knit Projects” by ExpressionFiberArts
There’s a moment when a simple sweater becomes your sweater—when a few thoughtful stitches turn stockinette into a garden. In this hands-on guide inspired by Expression Fiber Arts’ Malvarosa tutorial, you’ll learn exactly how to embroider on knitwear with approachable steps and a playful spirit.
What you’ll learn
- How to plan your motif on knit fabric and choose thread types
- The exact steps for French knots, Lazy Daisy petals, stem stitch, satin stitch, and leaves
- Tension do’s and don’ts to prevent puckering
- Smart sequencing: start knots, secure petals, build stems, and finish leaves
Elevate Your Knitwear with Beautiful Embroidery
Introduction to Knitwear Embroidery A few well-placed stitches can transform an everyday knit into something you’ll reach for again and again. You don’t need special equipment or rigid rules—just a darning needle, some yarn or embroidery thread, and a gentle touch. The video emphasizes that you can embroider wherever it delights you: along the yoke, down sleeves, across the hem—follow the fabric and your imagination.
The Malvarosa Sweater Inspiration The tutorial spotlights the Malvarosa sweater by Candy Key—a DK-weight design with puffed bishop sleeves, relaxed fit, and a cozy crew neck. In stockinette, it’s already wearable and timeless. Embroidery simply brings in a flourish of flowers, stems, and leaves around the yoke. The pattern and yarn links are provided by Expression Fiber Arts in the video description.
Why Embroider Your Knits? Embroidery is customization at its most joyful. It’s also forgiving: you can choose thread you already have, work at your own pace, and place motifs where they feel balanced to you. As the host says, there are really no rules—nature loves asymmetry, a bit of whimsy, and organic spacing.
Pro tip If you’re new to freehand embellishing, sketch a few simple blooms on paper first, then translate them to a knit swatch to practice.
Essential Tips for Embroidering on Knits
Planning Your Design with Markers If you don’t want to “wing it,” sketch your layout with a water-soluble marker directly on the knit fabric. Always test the marker on a swatch to confirm it washes out cleanly before drawing on your sweater. This single precheck can save hours.
Quick check Lines faintly visible? That can be helpful. The host recommends drawing lightly and testing on scrap first.
Mastering Thread Tension Your number-one goal is to avoid puckering. Keep your embroidery yarn or floss loose enough that the knit fabric can relax. Gentle tension preserves drape and keeps stitches from sinking or tightening unevenly.
Watch out Pulling too tightly can distort the stockinette and ripple your motif. Ease up and let the fabric breathe.
Choosing the Right Thread The tutorial demonstrates embroidering with Cash Silk Sock yarn. You can also use embroidery thread or silk thread—choose based on the look and texture you want. From the comments, one sample used DMC floss, and another tip suggests picking a thread slightly thinner than your knit fabric for crisp detail. If you’re deciding between a darning needle and an embroidery needle, either works; choose the one that glides smoothly through the fabric without snagging.
From the comments
- Blocking: A helpful reply recommends blocking your garment before embroidering. Once a sweater is embroidered, you might not be able to stretch it as fully without risking puckers.
- Needle choice: A darning needle isn’t required—an embroidery needle works too.
- Thread options: Viewers noted success with DMC floss and also suggested using thread a bit thinner than your knit.
Step-by-Step Embroidery Stitches
Starting with a Secure Chunky Knot Before any decorative stitch, anchor your thread. Thread your yarn through a darning needle, align the long tail with the needle, and wrap the yarn around the needle six or seven times loosely. Push the wraps down and slide to the end to form a chunky, secure knot behind your fabric.
That small bit of bulk prevents the starting end from slipping through the knit. It’s quick, effective, and invisible from the front.
French Knots for Floral Centers French knots bring texture and sparkle to the middle of your flowers. First, bring your needle up through a yarn fiber—not an open hole—so the knot anchors into the fabric. Hold your yarn with your non-dominant hand, wrap the needle twice, then insert the needle back down either in the same spot or just beside it. Keep a touch of tension on the wraps as you pull through, then release at the end to seat the knot.
Repeat to create a little cluster—enough to read as a bloom center without overwhelming the petals to come. Gentle consistency in wrap count keeps all your knots similar in size.
Creating Lazy Daisy Petals A Lazy Daisy petal is a loop locked neatly in place. Bring the needle up next to your flower center and insert it back down near the same spot, but do not pull the thread all the way through—let it form a loop. Now bring the needle up at the point where you want the petal tip to sit, catch the loop, and take a tiny stitch just outside the loop to lock it.
Work around the center, spacing petals as you go. You control petal length by where you bring the needle up for that tip: closer for tiny petals, farther for elongated ones.
Adding Detail: Stems, Fills, and Leaves
Crafting Neat Stems with Stem Stitch For stems that lie beautifully on knitted columns, the tutorial shows a stem stitch sequence that creates a tidy, rope-like line. Keep your working thread below the needle. Come up at your starting point, then go down two full knit stitches ahead. Bring the needle back up one stitch back (a gentle backtrack), pull through, and repeat. This method works for straight lines, curves, and whimsical loops—whatever suits the mood of your motif.
Aim to maintain the same “two forward, one back” rhythm for a consistent texture. Keeping the thread below the needle is key to that signature twist.
Filling Shapes with Satin Stitch Satin stitch is simply drawing with thread—straight lines laid side by side until a shape is filled. Imagine the shape (circle, petal, rectangle), insert your needle on one edge and bring it up on the opposite edge to create a long, smooth line. Then hop back across and repeat in parallel to cover the surface evenly.
You can fill densely for a plush, solid look or leave slight spacing for texture variation. If you spot gaps at the end, it’s fine to revisit and add a stitch or two where needed.
Embroidering Natural-Looking Leaves Leaves balance the flowers with greenery and direction. Start with the center line in mind. Work diagonal stitches from that central area to one side, come back up in the center, then mirror to the opposite side. Alternate side-to-side to shape the leaf edges and subtle veins, then finish with a small straight stitch down the middle to suggest the main vein. Keep tension relaxed so the leaf sits softly on the knit surface.
As with flowers, leaf density is up to you—sparse reads airy and sketched; dense looks polished and bold.
Quick check
- Are your French knots consistent? Count wraps (two) each time.
- Do petals match in length? Use the same tip placement distance for repeatability.
- Are stems even? Maintain the “two forward, one back” rhythm.
Unleash Your Creativity: No Rules, Just Fun
Beyond the Yoke: Where to Embroider The video encourages experimentation: embroider the yoke, sleeves, hem, or the sides of your sweater. The stockinette body of Malvarosa is a welcoming canvas, but any smooth-knit area works. If you’re tackling a larger piece—like a blanket—viewers noted that you can scale up the motif by simply drawing the design bigger, then following the same steps.
Experimenting with Designs Work the exact flowers demonstrated—French knot centers with Lazy Daisy petals, stem stitch vines, satin-stitch blooms, and leafy accents—or browse other motifs online. Keep the spirit of nature in mind: not every petal or leaf has to match. If you’re left-handed and find mirrored movements tricky, a commenter suggested seeking left-handed tutorials for stitch direction support.
From the comments
- On finishing ends: The video doesn’t demonstrate how to secure yarn tails at the end; a separate tutorial link was shared in the comments.
- On covering the back: It’s up to you where you embroider; covering the reverse isn’t required.
- On thread colorfastness: One viewer recommended pre-washing floss (especially reds) to check for dye bleed.
Watch out If you embroider first and block after, the added stitching may restrict stretch and cause puckering. Block before embroidering to set the garment’s dimensions.
Get Started on Your Embroidered Knit Project
Downloading the Malvarosa Pattern The Malvarosa sweater pattern by Candy Key is featured as the weekly pattern in the video. The host points viewers to the Expression Fiber Arts website and notes that direct links to both the pattern and the yarn appear in the video description.
Selecting Your Dewy DK Yarn The sweater shown is knit in a DK weight. The video mentions Dewy DK as a buttery-soft option for garments. For embroidery, the tutorial uses Cash Silk Sock yarn, but you can also choose embroidery floss or silk thread. From the comments, some stitched samples used DMC floss in specific shades.
Joining the Free Pattern Community Want more? The host invites you to subscribe on the site for free weekly knit and crochet patterns. It’s a simple way to keep ideas flowing and find your next canvas for embroidery.
Pro tip Work a mini swatch of your sweater yarn and test every stitch—French knot, Lazy Daisy, stem stitch, satin stitch, and leaves—before you touch your finished garment. It’s your stress-free rehearsal.
A note for machine-embroidery curious readers This tutorial focuses on hand embroidery on knits. If you also explore machine embroidery in other projects, you might encounter useful accessories like magnetic embroidery hoop options and even specialty frames such as magnetic embroidery frames. Some crafters experiment with tools like snap hoop monster or a mighty hoop for structured machine work, while beginners sometimes start by researching an embroidery machine for beginners. Use whatever approach fits the project—hand embroidery gives you organic, painterly texture on knitwear, and machine tools shine on stable fabrics where they’re appropriate.
Resource note Product names and accessories vary by region; if you shop abroad, searches such as embroidery hoops uk or broader terms like magnetic hoops for embroidery machines can help you compare options. Choose tools that match your fabric type and the effect you’re after.
Wrap-Up: Your Floral Roadmap You now have a clear path to add flowers, vines, and leaves to your knits:
- Start securely with a chunky knot.
- Build texture with French knots.
- Add petals with Lazy Daisy loops.
- Draw stems with the rhythmic stem stitch.
- Fill shapes confidently with satin stitch.
- Shape leaves with alternating diagonals and a central vein.
Keep your tension gentle, test your marker on a swatch, and block before you embroider. Then scatter blooms wherever your sweater needs a little joy.
From the comments: quick answers recap
- Block first to avoid post-embroidery puckering.
- Darning or embroidery needle—either works.
- Choose thread slightly thinner than the fabric for crisp detail.
- Finishing/ securing ends isn’t shown in the video; a separate tutorial link was shared in the comments.
Happy stitching—may your next cardigan or pullover flourish with petals, stems, and leaves.