Hand embroidery remains a cherished craft in our digital age, offering meditative creativity and tangible connection to textile traditions. Unlike machine work, hand stitching carries subtle imperfections that reveal the maker’s presence—variations in tension, slight directional shifts, and the rhythm of individual stitches. Contemporary hand embroiderers explore diverse styles: minimalist line work using single-strand black thread, elaborate thread paintings with hundreds of color gradations, or abstract textural pieces that emphasize the physicality of stitches. Many practitioners value the slow process as much as the finished product, finding mindfulness in repetitive motions and the tactile pleasure of needle through fabric. The resurgence of visible mending has introduced hand embroidery to new audiences as both decorative and functional skill. Modern materials expand possibilities—glow-in-the-dark floss, metallic blends, and eco-friendly plant-dyed threads complement traditional cotton and silk. Hand embroidery’s portability makes it ideal for creative time management, with many enthusiasts keeping “travel kits” for stitching during commutes or waiting periods. This ancient craft continues evolving through artist innovations while maintaining its essential character as a direct, hand-wrought expression.

Embroidery

We’ve found 20 great tutorials to get you started learning to embroider, including the basic stitches that every beginner to embroidery should learn.

Embroidery

Embroidery

I encourage you to use additional resources if you need more instruction than this simple guide. I have found video to be very useful in understanding stitches. Please click on the links below to watch very quick clips of the stitches. You can also find a directory of longer videos here, with more detailed instruction. Please stay tuned as I add more stitches to this index and fill out each section with more details and video. Stitches are listed alphabetically. ———————————— Back stitch Back stitch is worked from right to left and is great for creating solid lines. It helps to shorten the stitch length when using this stitch (and other linear stitches) to outline curved lines. You can also use this stitch to fill a shape and your stitches will look like little bricks. It’s also a great stitch for lettering. Start a stitch length away from the beginning of your line. Come up at A, then down at B, the start of your line. Then up a stitch length away at C, and back down at A. Up again at D and then down at C. Be sure to use the same same holes (A, C, etc) so there is no gap between your back stitches. VIDEO: Back stitch VIDEO: 2 ways to fill with back stitch Lettering tutorial Whipped back stitch To whip your back stitch come up at A, the beginning of your line. Then weave under and over EVERY stitch until you reach the end of the line. Bring your needle down at B and anchor. VIDEO: Whipped back stitch Lettering tutorial Chain stitch Chain Stitch creates a lovely textured line and has many variations to play with. Come up and down with the needle at the start of your line (A), leaving a loop. Come back up within the loop (B), a stitch length away, and pull to tighten the loop to desired tautness. End the chain with a small stitch tacking the loop down. This is another nice linear stitch for lettering. VIDEO: Traditional, reverse and detached chain stitch Lettering tutorial Reverse chain stitch Reversed Chain Stitch starts at the “end” of chain stitch with the small tacking stitch (A-B). Come up through the fabric a stitch length away (C) and slip your needle under the tacking stitch (do not pierce the fabric) before coming back down through the same hole (C). Continue in a chain. VIDEO: Traditional, reverse and detached chain stitch Lettering tutorial Detached chain stitch Detached Chain Stitch AKA Lazy Daisy is great for leaves and flowers. You can experiment with tension here, giving a thin or more rounded leaf/petal shape. Here you create a series of single chains. VIDEO: Traditional, reverse and detached chain stitch Heavy chain stitch VIDEO: Heavy Chain Stitch Couching Couching is a great linear stitch I like to use for lettering and stems or vines. This stitch uses two working threads which can vary in size (ply), type and color. The couched thread is pulled up at the start of your line (a) and goes down all of the way at the end of your line (b), leaving slack. Your couching thread is then used to tack down the couched thread along the curves of the lines. Both threads are anchored once the desired line is created. VIDEO: Couching Lettering tutorial Fern stitch Fern Stitch makes a nice addition to any florals. I think of it as a series of Y’s made of back stitches. VIDEO: Fern stitch Fishbone stitch Fishbone Stitch is my favorite way to fill leaves. You can use an angle more parallel or perpendicular to the vein of the leaf to give different looks. Go back and forth from the starting stitches at the top of the leaf and working down the sides of the outline. The stitches come up at the top and cross each other mid-leaf. VIDEO: Fishbone stitch Full fishbone stitch tutorial Fly stitch Fly stitch can be used for

Sewing embroidery tips

Floral Embroidery Kit- Hand Embroidery Kit- Embroidery Kit- Beginner embroidery kit- DIY embroidery
kit- Flowers Embroidery Kit- Spring Gift

Make your own hand embroidered multicoloured floral wall art with \

Hand embroidery

Sewing Supplies Storage

We’re sending a big thank-you to embellished jeans and cheeky throw pillows for making embroidery the latest crafty comeback. (Seriously, just look at the magic that’s happening over on Insta.) Want in? These 10 stitches will get you started, and are a great foundation for taking your hoop to the…