Hi Amy,

If you are using the calico fabric from the kit, that shouldn’t be down to the weight of the fabric . I use a medium weight calico (UK name), which I believe is called muslin in the US – (muslin forme is a very fine cotton fabric that is almost transparent). Without seeing your proposed new backing fabric, it is difficult to know whether it will be sturdy enough, but it should be a similar or slightly heavier weight than the green fabric.

If the perle threads are coming out, that suggests to me that the tension of your stitches should be tighter – you do want to give your sewing thread a good pull as you work, this will help to make the trailing smooth as well.

When you say the sating stitch isn’t smooth do you mean the edges or the top? A non-smooth edge is helped by making a split stitch around to make a neat outline. If it is not smooth on top this could also be down to thread tension.

If you are having trouble getting through the fabric however, could it be that the needle has blunted? The size 10 embroidery needles used for the trailing are very fine, so can even have the point snipped off by scissors!

If you can send me a picture that will help me diagnose the issues a little easier!

Best wishes,

Sarah