How to start doing embroidery

Embroidery may look like a complex process, but it is accessible, calms you down, and it’s a very interesting hobby. Or even more than a hobby for some people (me). Embroidery is not expensive, it’s absorbing, it’s compact - so you can take a project with you, and it’s easy to learn. You don’t need any skills - you can learn even if you never held a needle in your hands You have at least three learning options:

1. Learn hand embroidery stitches

You’ll find stitch tutorials on my website, on my YouTube channel, and in my Instagram profile. Then you can improvise and create simple embroideries using those stitches

Set of embroidery hoops with colorful city skylines and a fabric swatch on a notebook — My first ever sampler from school

Hand-stitched embroidery in a wooden hoop showing a house on rolling hills with trees and swirly clouds. — One of my early experiments with back stitch

To make this process easier, I created two samplers. Each of them has thoroughly explained stitches on diagrams and on videos. And the whole process, including transfer, fabric choice, and finishing embroidery are explained too. The first sampler consists of 7 stitches: backstitch, straight stitch, chain stitch, satin stitch, lazy daisy stitch (detached chain stitch), bullion knot stitch, french knots. It's a colourful Party popper - easy and fast to make.

Get Party popper sampler

Embroidery hoop with line-drawn hands releasing a burst of colorful speckled stitches — Party popper sampler

The second sampler consists of 21 stitches: backstitch, couching stitch, running stitch, whipped backstitch, split stitch, fly stitch, seed stitch, herringbone stitch, blanket stitch, stem stitch, laced running stitch, straight stitch, chain stitch, satin stitch, long and short stitches, feather stitch, lazy daisy stitch, rose stitch, fishbone stitch, bullion knot stitch, french knots. In the end, you'll make a cute landscape!

Get 21 stitch sampler

Circular embroidery landscape with mountains, a pink cottage, colorful flowers, and birds. — 21 stitch sampler

Pros:

you don't need a lot of thread colors
there's a lot of free stitch tutorials

Cons:

you don't know what to do with the stitches
hard to move from knowing stitches to making them into designs without patterns
you need to look for the information yourself

2. Find a pattern that you like and learn stitches in action

There are so many interesting and beautiful patterns out there. You can find almost anything and follow the process

Five embroidery hoops with minimalist city skylines against colorful striped backgrounds — 4 Architectural patterns for beginners, perfect for creating stunning hoop art and wall decor

Get beginners bundle

Assorted embroidery hoops with colorful stitched designs—landscapes, florals, and cozy interiors. — An array of intermediate level patterns that have thorough instructions

Explore the landscapes

Pros:

you’ll have finished project you can place on your wall or gift
you’ll understand what stitches are better for filling, what are better for accents and etc.
choosing interesting design helps to stay motivated

Cons:

your progress will depend on pattern instructions. Who knows if the stitches are explained or you’ll just get a design and color chart
it costs money, although there are some sources with free projects

I have a series of patterns: architectural, floral, with interior, and even with tiger. They all have one thing in common - a thorough explanation:

What do you need for embroidery
How to choose threads, fabric, and needles
How to transfer an image to fabric
Stitches on diagrams and video tutorials
How to finish embroidery hoop
Tips

I guide you through the whole process and gather all information in one place. So you don't need to look for it somewhere else. You can browse all patterns in my shop

Choose a pattern

Array of round embroidered hoops with colorful city skylines stacked together. Made by @faimyxstitch — City hand embroidery patterns

I'll also share the free alternatives. I have four stitch-along projects on my YouTube channel. Simple projects with video tutorials. You can join at any time:

Four embroidery hoops with nature-inspired embroidery designs and colorful skeins of thread. Free stitch-alongs made by @faimyxstitch — Stitch along embroideries

3. Go to the workshop/attend online course

This will require a longer commitment from you, although it depends on the course

Pros:

you’ll get more information from one place
usually workshops and courses end with finished project in hands
you can ask questions and get feedback
you can meet fellow embroidery enthusiasts

Cons:

I didn't come up with any, if it’s a good course or workshop, it’ll give you the knowledge, practice and ideas for future projects
found one! The price is higher than in the other options

Hand embroidery stitches and practice

I have online course "Hand embroidery stitches and practice" It was designed to teach you 40 stitches, show how to choose when to use which stitch, and how to choose colors. And you'll create 3 samplers, one embroidery using all 40 stitches, and 3 more designs. And that’s not the end, you also get 20 more designs to practice after the course!

Draw and embroider your city

The second online course, "Draw and embroider your city." In this one, I'll teach you how to make city embroideries. You will learn to draw a sketch with your favourite landmarks, and practice how to embroider textures of water, bricks, greenery, and so on. Then you’ll embroider London and Prague that you drew in the first part.

Upcycling with embroidery

And the third course I'm offering is "Upcycling with embroidery". You'll learn how to approach any fabric, when you need to use stabilizer, and how to choose colors for the project. Of course, I'll show all embroidery basics and important stitches. So you could start practicing right away. The course includes 13 designs for you to make and 11 files with additional info. This course was made with the Domestika platform and subtitles are also available in 6 different languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian

Summary

Each of these ways will lead you to the result. Some are faster, some are slower. Pick the one that get’s you more excited and start practicing. Embroidery is great, I hope you’ll try it and love it as much as I do