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It is amazing to see incredibly fine embroidery from times gone by, when there was no electricity and therefore no artificial lighting. If you consider that many women would not have had the opportunity to embroider during the day because they were then working in the fields or in the household, how did they embroider in the evening?! I don’t really know the answer to that. If you’ve ever tried to sew by candlelight during a power outage, you’ll be amazed at your accomplishments with me.

When I embroider during the day, I prefer to sit by a window and let the natural light illuminate my work. The colors are more accurate and it doesn’t contribute to the greenhouse effect or my electricity bill! However, sometimes I want to embroider in the evening when there is little or no daylight. For this reason it is wonderful that today we have the benefit of electricity and many wonderful lamps to illuminate our work and make it more visible as we embroider. This helps with accurate needle placement and protection from eye fatigue or eye strain. So how do we use these lamps to best help ourselves?

Incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, true color, etc.?
There are many different types of light bulbs. True color lamps such as Ott lights and daylight lamps are the holy grail of embroidery lighting for many needleworkers. They provide lighting that does not give the light a warm or cool color cast like many other types of light do. If color is important in your handiwork, a true color lamp may be what you need.

But normal incandescent and fluorescent lamps in your lamp can also work well. They’re a lot cheaper than true color lamps, and there’s certainly no reason why you can’t use them. I do! However, be aware that they are not colorfast and will alter the colors of the threads and fabrics you use. When using these types of bulbs, do all color checks and selections in sunlight.

Halogen lamps are a popular type of lighting in modern homes and can be used to illuminate while you sew your embroidery. Remember that halogen lights produce UV rays that can cause skin damage (just like sunlight). Choose a lightbulb that filters out these rays so your skin is protected.

floor lamps
If you’re right-handed, it’s best to position a lamp so that the light shines over your left shoulder and onto your work. This means your sewing hand won’t obstruct the light as it falls on your work area. If you are left-handed, you should position the lamp so that it shines over your right shoulder. Experiment with the exact position to get the best effect.

Desk or table lamps
If you are right-handed, position the lamp on the table to your left. This means your sewing hand won’t obstruct the light as it falls on your work area. If you are left-handed, position the table lamp to your right. Experiment with the exact position and proximity of the light to get maximum benefit.

plug in the lamps
I find small, clip-on, battery-powered lamps with LED bulbs to be an excellent portable option. By clipping the lamp to my craft frame or frame, I can work anywhere with good lighting, whether it’s at afternoon classes or my kids’ sports activities, in a coffee shop, or in a waiting room. Clamp the lamp on the other side of the frame for right-handed users or the bracket on the left and vice versa for left-handed users.

If you choose your lighting carefully and position it well, you too should be able to make exquisite embroidery, just like in the old days!

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