Ultimate Embroidery Guide for Beginners

A hand holding a bunch of coloured embroidery thread alongside text saying 'the ultimate guide'.

Ultimate Embroidery Guide for Beginners

You're keen on getting started with embroidery, but still have a hundred questions? Find all of the answers in the Ultimate Embroidery Guide for Beginners!

What is Embroidery?

As the most basic description, embroidery is the art of using a needle and thread to decorate fabric. In this post, I'm going to explain what embroidery is and take you through a few of the different types of embroidery, as well as show you photos of historic and modern examples of each type.

How Difficult is Embroidery?

Ok you're tempted to try embroidery, but it looks complicated - more complicated than cross stitch - let's go into some detail about how difficult embroidery is or isn't!

An embroidery hoop with a stitched rainbow design, alongside text saying '10 tips for beginners'

10 tips for Hand Embroidery Beginners

Some tips for any beginners out there suffering from "blank hoop syndrome"!

by Sammy Bishop
6 min read

Cream text on a navy background saying 'how to start and tie off' alongside a picture of bright pink fabric, a needle, and embroidery thread.

Starting and Tying off your Embroidery

A quick video and text tutorial on starting & tying off

by Sammy Bishop
1 min read

A hand holding a bunch of bright embroidery thread, alongside orange text saying 'best threads'

What are the Best Threads for Hand Embroidery?

Let's talk thread - the main brands, and the main types of hand embroidery thread available.

Stacks of bright fabric on each side of the image, with cream text against an orange background saying 'which fabric?'

Best Fabrics for Embroidery

Wondering which fabrics are best for hand embroidery - and which ones really aren't? Check out our guide to different embroidery materials!

by Sammy Bishop
3 min read

A small patterned dish containing embroidery thread and scissors alongside large text saying 'top tools'

Embroidery Tools for Beginners

So, you've collected the basics that you need to start embroidering. There's also a few tools that can help you on the way - whether that's helping with threading pesky needles, easing sore hands and fingers, or help with learning new embroidery techniques!