10 Embroidery Tips For The Beginner

Are you wanting to try hand embroidery but not sure where to start? Here are 10 hand embroidery tips for the beginner! I am very much a beginner here myself, and I hope these tips will help you feel confident on starting this fun craft!

1. Start simple with your supplies! There are so many embroidery supplies out there, and it’s overwhelming for us beginners. Why are there so many different types and sizes of needles? What kind of fabric do I need? How much floss do I need? Whew. I suggest to start simple and on the cheaper side for now. Here are the five items I started out with:

I loved using this embroidery hoop from Dimensions because it comes with the fabric already in it, and the six inch size was perfect to start with. For needles, I read about all the different kinds and I wanted something that would be easier/faster for me to thread. So I went with a variety sized pack of Chenille needles. Chenille needles have a larger/longer eye and a sharp tip. A variety pack of DMC floss is perfect to start out with! Embroidery scissors are a must if you want clean and easy cuts with your floss. Last but not least you’ll need a way to transfer a pattern onto your fabric if you go that route. There are really cool pens you can sketch/trace your design with, that erase with heat or water. But I really liked the easy option of printing the design out and just sticking it on. The Stick-N-Washaway sheets from Pellon worked great. The pattern will just disolve away in water when you’re done!

2. Use a simple and free pattern! DMC has a lot to choose from in all kinds of designs. I suggest doing some kind of florals since they can be more forgiving. But choose something that you don’t mind staring at for a long time ha! Here is the floral pattern that I used.

3. Start with just 3 stitches. There are so many different embroidery stitches it can be overwhelming! Don’t feel like you need to learn them all right away. I just started with the back stitch, satin stitch, and the french knot. And those are all you need for this floral pattern! You can check out DMC’s stitch guide to see how to do them and others.

Back stitch:

Satin stitch:

French knot:

4. Stick with cotton floss for now. I accidently grabbed some satin floss, and while it feels great and looks pretty, it’s hard to work with as a beginner. (The brighter pink flower was satin floss.) It’s thicker and tends to unravel more easily.

5. Don’t worry about splitting your floss right now. Each skein of floss has 6 strands to work with. You can work with one or two strands at a time, or all six for a thicker stitch. It can sometimes be tricky to separate them with no tangles, so I’d suggest to just start stitching with all six for now.

6. Lick, thread, and knot! I think the easiest and simplest way to get your needle and floss ready is by licking one end and threading it through the needle’s eye, and then tie a standard knot on the other end. Keep a little inch or two tail that comes out of the eye. This is just worked best for me, but find what works for you!

7. Check your back. Sometimes that floss can get a little crazy, and if you don’t check the back of your hoop every so often, you may find some crazy looking loops or tangles. They are easy to fix if you catch it early. Not as easy to fix later on, and you may just have to cut it out.

8. Stick to the pattern, but also don’t! You don’t have to always choose the exact colors the pattern calls for. I just picked out some summery colors I had. Also feel free to change the stitch if you want to!

9. Tangles and knots happen. Just expect to ask yourself ‘how did this happen?’ over and over 🙂 Cut off what you need to and try again. Practice makes progress!

10. Slow and steady! Embroidery is not a finish a project in a day kind of craft. It’s a pick it up and put it down, could take days or weeks kind of thing. Expect to go slow and make mistakes. But wow when you finish your first hoop, it feels so satisfying!