In these last few weeks, the days get quiet but there’s still plenty to inspire. For us, we couldn’t have found a better time to take up a new hobby as we find ourselves confined to the safety of our homes, and that hobby happened to be one of the most beautiful and productive! Embroidery is an ancient art form, traced back to nearly 30,000 B.C. and mastered over time with new techniques and showcased magnificent ways from garments to artwork and even furniture in almost every culture and continent. Our sentiments are particularly echoed in the idea of creating beautiful, lasting pieces, artwork that’s practical but oh so pretty. Something that the likes of the March sisters or Elizabeth Bennet might be proud of. Embroidery is not just a new hobby, it’s a beautiful gateway for those readers who might have always wanted to better connect with the young literary heroines of their childhoods. In a time like now, a skill like embroidery couldn’t be a more fitting one to practice, let alone take up quite a few hours of these long days ahead.

And so, we’ve rounded up a few essentials for beginning embroidery for yourself! If you think it’s just pulling a needle and thread through fabric, you’re basically right. It took us so long to learn for ourselves in fear of how tedious and tricky it all looked! But surprise; there isn’t a better time than now, especially with plenty of it at your disposal, to see that in the end, it’s easy, and fun! And not to mention, absolutely rewarding.

Design Inspiration

Nothing gets you going like eyeing a few patterns for your inspiration. Explore Pinterest or follow #EmbroideryArt on Instagram to find what patterns or designs you’d like to create for yourself.

Materials

Let’s just keep it to the basics. We learned simply with thread and needle, hoop and cloth. The holy quartet of embroidery can be found in just about any starter kit on Etsy, Michaels, or Amazon! We got our kit for 50 colors of thread, 10″ hoop, and stitching needles for $18 on Wish via Wish Express— it got here in less than 5 days!

Tutorials

Lastly, we couldn’t recommend the helpful and calming tutorials of embroidery by artist Diana Vingert. It’s honestly how we began our threading journey, and by just watching her videos closely, we have the utmost confidence you’ll pick up embroidery like magic, too! Diana’s Instagram is also filled with helpful bite-size closeups of various techniques and featured patterns, like the blanket stitch or perfecting our personal favorite, the French knot!

And thus has your journey in taking up a new and wonderfully satisfying as embroidery begun. Have a look at our two unique collections we’ve made so far, featuring New Orleans Spring, made of Jasmines, soft pink Camellias, and roses:

And most recently, California Hills, inspired by flowers we’ve seen on our daily strolls in the Northern California countryside. California Lilacs and cherry blossoms still young in bloom frame two peach roses to welcome in the warmth and hope of the springtime:

We hope that these resources are enough to get you grabbing for the needle just in time for the beautiful seasons ahead. We’re easily moved by fresh flowers and golden light that make their way into our own little masterpieces, but it’s up to our readers to find that inspiration for themselves, and we can only imagine what beauties you’ll create during this magical time for crafting, especially embroidery.