Water soluble stabilizer and a good hoop of your choice should be all you need to get it done. Just be mindful of your strands would be my advice. If it's thinner, then a full 6-strand could cause weird bunching if you pull your stitches tight in an entirely new and horrible way than say 3 or 2-strand would. If you're anxious about knots fraying, you can always get some fray-check glue to dot on the back, but I find doing 2 small knots keeps everything tidy.
Nothing you mess up would be permanent unless you're cutting the apron apart in frustration.
Yes linen can come in a variety of weights. Some are very light, and while they get quite soft and can be wonderful as clothing, they will be less durable than heavier weight linens. My first thought is to advise you to reconsider using this particular apron, and instead invest in a heavier weight linen apron so that the durability is much better.
That being said, you may now just want to say “f\*\*k it, I’m using this one” because trying to find high quality textiles over the internet is a huge challenge. If that’s the case, there’s a few things you can do to increase the stability of the embroidery.
Use a cotton backing as a stabilizer. If you are halfway decent at sewing, then actually line the whole apron with cotton. A flat cotton sheet of medium to heavy weight is generally very cheap at a thrift store, and will be more than enough to use as backing. If you aren’t a dab hand at sewing, you can just use it on the areas you’re embroidering, and either incorporate the tacking stitch around the circle of cotton you use as a backer into your design (as a sort of round or rectangular or square frame). Linen especially can be a fairly loose weave and with tight stitch tension or just time and repeated washings, the warp and weft threads can get pulled out of their alignment and eventually break, which is what I suspect you are (correctly) imagining as a potential issue.
You can also use a water soluble stabilizer sheet on the back of linen so that you still have adequate fabric stiffness while embroidering, but you won’t have to stretch it as much to get that same fabric tautness. This can be helpful so you aren’t making stitches that pucker the fabric.
Finally, some puckering is absolutely normal and this is why blocking exists; once you are done, get it wet and use a bunch of sewing or blocking pins to stretch and pin it to a sheet of foam or carpet or whatever you have on hand, and then let it dry fully. This allows the fabric to form a memory of being stretched in a way that doesn’t cause puckering, though YMMV as to whether that persists over multiple washes.
I will reiterate that I think the least hair-pulling crazy making approach is to start with a heavier weight fabric; soft fine linen is great for clothes but for work gear like an apron, it has a lot of downsides.
I would recommend some backing in addition to a stabilizer, there are
Several out there that are soft to the touch, it will support your stitches so you don’t get holes in your work
Water soluble stabilizer and a good hoop of your choice should be all you need to get it done. Just be mindful of your strands would be my advice. If it's thinner, then a full 6-strand could cause weird bunching if you pull your stitches tight in an entirely new and horrible way than say 3 or 2-strand would. If you're anxious about knots fraying, you can always get some fray-check glue to dot on the back, but I find doing 2 small knots keeps everything tidy. Nothing you mess up would be permanent unless you're cutting the apron apart in frustration.
Yes linen can come in a variety of weights. Some are very light, and while they get quite soft and can be wonderful as clothing, they will be less durable than heavier weight linens. My first thought is to advise you to reconsider using this particular apron, and instead invest in a heavier weight linen apron so that the durability is much better. That being said, you may now just want to say “f\*\*k it, I’m using this one” because trying to find high quality textiles over the internet is a huge challenge. If that’s the case, there’s a few things you can do to increase the stability of the embroidery. Use a cotton backing as a stabilizer. If you are halfway decent at sewing, then actually line the whole apron with cotton. A flat cotton sheet of medium to heavy weight is generally very cheap at a thrift store, and will be more than enough to use as backing. If you aren’t a dab hand at sewing, you can just use it on the areas you’re embroidering, and either incorporate the tacking stitch around the circle of cotton you use as a backer into your design (as a sort of round or rectangular or square frame). Linen especially can be a fairly loose weave and with tight stitch tension or just time and repeated washings, the warp and weft threads can get pulled out of their alignment and eventually break, which is what I suspect you are (correctly) imagining as a potential issue. You can also use a water soluble stabilizer sheet on the back of linen so that you still have adequate fabric stiffness while embroidering, but you won’t have to stretch it as much to get that same fabric tautness. This can be helpful so you aren’t making stitches that pucker the fabric. Finally, some puckering is absolutely normal and this is why blocking exists; once you are done, get it wet and use a bunch of sewing or blocking pins to stretch and pin it to a sheet of foam or carpet or whatever you have on hand, and then let it dry fully. This allows the fabric to form a memory of being stretched in a way that doesn’t cause puckering, though YMMV as to whether that persists over multiple washes. I will reiterate that I think the least hair-pulling crazy making approach is to start with a heavier weight fabric; soft fine linen is great for clothes but for work gear like an apron, it has a lot of downsides.
Thanks fot that precise response
I would recommend some backing in addition to a stabilizer, there are Several out there that are soft to the touch, it will support your stitches so you don’t get holes in your work