Cross Stitch on Clothes: How to Embroider a Hoodie with Water-Soluble Canvas

After my first experiment embroidering a T-shirt with Aida fabric, I was really excited to try another method.

This time, I've chosen a hoodie, and I'll be using water-soluble canvas, a special material designed to help you cross stitch on clothes.

The idea is simple: use the canvas as a guide while stitching, then dissolve it in water once your embroidery is finished, leaving only your design on the garment.

Let's give it a try!

🪡 What Is Water-Soluble Canvas?

Water-soluble canvas is a special material that you can place over fabric to use as a guide for cross stitching.

Unlike regular cross stitch fabrics, it's designed to dissolve in water.

This means you can add cross stitch designs to clothes that don't have a grid of their own, such as T-shirts, hoodies, or fabric bags.

It's such a fun way to personalise your clothes!

💧 Cross Stitching on a Hoodie with Water-Soluble Canvas

For this second project, I've chosen a hoodie.

I'm going to embroider the upper back, so the first thing I do is position the water-soluble canvas in the right place and secure it with a few basting stitches to keep it from moving while I work.

Once it's secured, I draw the pattern's reference grid lines using a heat-erasable fabric pen. Since the water-soluble canvas is transparent, these guidelines help me keep track of where I am as I stitch through the holes in the grid.

It's important to pay attention to the thread tension and make sure the hoodie fabric doesn't stretch too much while stitching.

Little by little, the design starts to take shape, and this time, stitching feels super easy!

The DMC size 5 embroidery needle works amazingly well!

But the part I'm most curious about comes when the embroidery is finished…

✨ A Canvas That Disappears in Water!

Once the design is complete, it's time to remove the water-soluble canvas.

Instead of pulling out the canvas threads one by one, as I did in my Aida project, this time I can use water to dissolve the material, following the manufacturer's instructions.

This is one of the main differences between the two methods I wanted to try.

But what happens to the stitches once the canvas disappears?

Do the crosses keep their shape? And how does the finished embroidery look?

You can see the whole process in my new video!

🎬 Watch the Cross Stitch on Clothes Tutorial

In this YouTube video, you can follow along as I embroider my hoodie using water-soluble canvas and discover how this technique works.

 

🎁 Download the Free Cross Stitch Patterns

For these two clothing embroidery projects, I've created two cross stitch designs that you can download and use for your own creations!

You can choose your favourite colours and use the patterns to personalise your clothes or create another cross stitch project.

Get creative!

🧵 Aida Fabric vs. Water-Soluble Canvas

With this project, I've completed my little experiment using two different methods to cross stitch on clothes.

In the first video, I used Aida fabric on a green T-shirt, stitching three little ducks before carefully removing the canvas threads.

For this second project, I've tried water-soluble canvas on a hoodie, using water to remove the temporary stitching guide.

Both projects have helped me explore different ways of adding cross stitch to everyday clothes.

If you haven't seen my first experiment yet, you can watch it here:

Now I'd love to know what you think!

Have you ever tried water-soluble canvas for cross stitching? Do you prefer Aida fabric or water-soluble canvas?

Let me know in the comments. I always love hearing about other stitchers' experiences and ideas!

And if you make something using my patterns, don't forget to tag me @lanascrespo on Instagram.
I'd love to see your creations! 💕