How to beautify your basics with just a glue gun and some thread

It’s officially crafting season. I only have to look at the homemade candles in my living room, the advent wreath that I painstakingly put together and the polymer clay bag and keychains in my gift repertoire (tutorial coming soon). My Instagram and Pinterest algorithms are also overflowing with instructions on how to best twist this and how to paint that. That’s how I suddenly found myself hunched over a sweatshirt with a glue gun in my hand.

Sketching, shooting, stitching

Chris Payen embroidered an old hoodie on his Instagram account @lappartneyap. How? Using a glue gun, he wrote the words «Day off» in large letters then stitched over them with colourful thread. You can see the result here. How did my attempt go? Read on to find out:

I ordered a Uhu glue gun and a set of different coloured cotton thread. First of all: I wouldn’t recommend this particular thread – it frays a bit – so, I’d rather invest in a slightly higher quality version next time.

Hot glue guns

EUR16,56

UHU glue gun

135

Hot glue guns

EUR16,56

UHU glue gun

135

Then I got cracking. While the glue-loaded gun was heating up – this takes about ten minutes – I sketched out my design. I happened to have a textile marker to hand, but you could also use a pencil or something similar.

I fired the first «shot» on an old tea towel as a test. Lesson learned: the viscous ammunition is somewhat unpredictable and it’s quite tricky to control how much comes out. Nevertheless, I finally dared to use it on my boring grey sweatshirt and traced the pre-sketched letters. Using a small piece of cardboard, I managed to shape the glue a little here and there. Then I had to wait. According to the Uhu instructions, it’s best to let the glue dry for two hours. I left it overnight. Better safe than sorry.

On day two, I finally got the thread out. My fake Miu Miu logo was dry and ready to be stitched. It was a bit time-consuming – the six letters took around two and a half hours in total – but it was a doddle. Just pull the thread through the embroidery needle, tie a knot at the end and start wrapping it around the lettering, starting on the inside of the garment (so the knot’s hidden). When I’d finished with each colour, I secured the thread on the inside of my hoodie with several small, tight knots.

The result

For a first attempt, I think my glue gun jumper’s pretty good. The letters may be a little messy here and there, but it gets the job done.

I’ve also washed the jumper since its makeover. Inside out, at 30 degrees. The glue base held up, but the thread’s a bit frayed. After more washes, it’ll probably start to look a mess. So, as I said, I’d go for a higher quality one next time. Otherwise, 10 out of 10. I can only recommend this easy DIY to you – it’d make a lovely Christmas present, too.