Embroidery starter kits and essentials for beginners: everything you need to start
Become an embroidery expert with our embroidery starter kit guide.
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If you’re new to the world of stitching then this is the post for you. We’ve gathered everything you need to create your own embroidery starter kit. Or, if you’d prefer to buy your kit ready-made, we’ve rounded up ten of our favourite beginner’s embroidery kits from the high street!
What do I need to start embroidery?
Getting started with embroidery is super easy as you don’t need very much to have a go and stitch something beautiful. We’ve asked the experts Cloud Craft to round up everything you need below.
Once you’ve gathered all your embroidery supplies check these lovely beginner beginners projects. Stitch a Bee embroidery hoop, refresh a plain jacket with our Denim jacket upcycle or embroider Easy embroidered clouds.
Fabric
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Although you can embroider on almost any fabric, some work better than others. When you’re getting started it’s best to avoid stretchy fabrics – cottons and linens work really well and come in a rainbow of colours. Our favourites are Kona cotton and Essex Linen. If you are looking for a different texture, 100% wool felt is also lovely to embroider on and, unlike acrylic felts, it holds stitches beautifully.
An embroidery hoop
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It’s not essential but embroidery hoops do help to keep your fabric taut while you’re stitching and allow you to have better control of your needle. You can get wooden or plastic ones, in lots of shapes and sizes. A great hoop for starting out is a 7” wooden one, and you can use it to frame your masterpiece when you’ve finished!
Threads
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There are lots of different threads to choose from but don’t be tempted to buy cheap bundles because these are prone to tangling and are not always colourfast. Starting with DMC stranded cotton embroidery thread is great. It comes in around 400 colours, and is made up of 6 strands which you can separate, so you can stitch thick or thin lines. A popular choice to use for embroidery is 2 strands. If you want to keep things simple, choose perlé cotton – it’s not divisible but is lovely and smooth and great for beginners.
Needles
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Embroidery needles have sharp points and a large eye, making them easier to thread. They come in a variety of thicknesses (the higher the number the thinner the needle). It’s a good idea to get a mixed pack so you can see which you prefer and works best for your style of embroidery. Size 5 works well for stranded or perlé cotton. If you’re planning to do any knotted stitches it’s handy to have some milliner’s needles. These are the same width from the eye to tip making it much easier for a knot to pass through the needle. For woven or threaded stitches, tapestry needles are useful as they have blunt ends so won’t snag your thread.
Embroidery scissors
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Embroidery scissors have small sharp blades so you can snip small strands of thread. If you get a good quality pair and remember to only use them on thread and fabric they will give you years of service. Be warned though, collecting embroidery scissors can become addictive!
It’s also helpful to have a good pair of fabric scissors and, if you are using linen, some pinking shears to cut the edge of your fabric to minimise fraying.
Transfer tools
You can carefully draw your design directly onto fabric using a pencil but the lines can be difficult to remove. There are some specialist supplies which make this process easier, such as wipe off pens (where the ink disappears with a spray of water), chalk pencils (great for darker fabrics) or iron-on transfer pens, which are a great way to get a detailed design onto fabric.
10 of the best beginner’s embroidery kits
To learn the stitches included in these embroidery start kits check out our library of embroidery stitches.
Meadow Sweet Wild Flowers Embroidery Cushion Kit
This lovely embroidery starter kit is a great, simple project and comes with everything you need to embroider a floral cushion, from the embroidery threads and pattern to the cushion pad.
Colourful fox embroidery by Cinnamon Stitching
This delightful hand embroidery kit contains everything you need to complete this lovely design. This embroidery starter kit comes with everything you need to make this colourful, glittering fox design. Great for beginners or those simply looking for a quick project that will draw in the compliments!
John Lewis Hawthorn Handmade Succulent Embroidery Kit
Try your hand at modern embroidery with this succulent embroidery kit from Hawthorne Handmade. Suitable for beginners, the kit contains a 7in embroidery hoop, pre-printed cotton fabric, embroidery needle and all the length of DMC embroidery thread needed.
Forget-me-not ‘Camille’ hanging heart hand embroidery kit by Hannah Burbury Designs
Make a beautiful decoration for your home or to give as a gift with this hanging heart kit from Hannah Burbury Designs. The heart is made from 100% wool felt and finished with natural linen ribbon. Everything you need is included in this embroidery starter kit – a great weekend project!
DMC Insect Magic Paper Embroidery Kit
This beautiful kit allows to you embroider your favourite garments with floral designs featuring dainty butterflies. Great for beginners, the kit contains pre-printed design, on DMC Magic Paper, DMC Mouline stranded cotton thread, a stitch guide and a sewing needle.
Cat Tote Bag Embroidery Kit by Stitch with Skye
This kit includes everything you need to create this embroidered cat tote. Stitch one as a treat for yourself or gift the kit to a crafty, cat-loving friend! The kit includes everything you need including a 100% natural cotton tote bag with a pre-printed design.
Floral Embroidery Kit by Coconut Theory
Get your stitch fix with this gorgeous autumnal inspired embroidery starter kit from Coconut Theory. It includes a 20cm embroidery hoop, pre-printed cloth, embroidery thread, a needle and full instructions.
Felt Sewing Pouch Embroidery Kit by Corinne Lapierre
This folk inspired pouch would make a meaningful gift for a family member or friend. Suitable for stitches of all levels and guaranteed to get you hooked on embroidery! Everything you need to make the pouch is included in the kit including felt, DMC embroidery thread, a needle, button and an unpicker (just incase!)
Cherry Blossom embroidery kit by Oh Sew Bootiful
This beautiful Cherry Blossom embroidery starter kit has a 3-D feel to it. The design is stitched ontop of a printed panel for a life-like effect. The kit contains a 6 inch embroidery hoop, pre-printed fabric, padding, embroidery thread, needles and full instructions.
Hummingbird Embroidery Kit by Paraffle
Paisley Hummingbird Embroidery Kit – a DIY kit for modern hand embroidery. This unique paisley hummingbird design would make a great gift, either as a kit or stitched up and ready to display! Perfect for beginners, the design features ten embroidery stitches so you can learn new stitches while making a piece of art! Everything you need to stitch the design is included in the kit, including a working hoop and a display hoop.
Once you’ve chosen your beginner’s embroidery kit go and give Cloud Craft a follow on Instagram for more stitch inspiration.
Authors
Simply Sewing magazine’s Technical Editor Roisin loves every part of the dressmaking process, from sketching to sewing the final design, and enjoys working with luxury fabrics such as silk and chiffon. She’s a sewing pattern pro with a skill for adjusting and hacking patterns to fit and for editing dressmaking instructions to make them accessible to sewists of all abilities. Before she came to Simply Sewing, the tea-drinking fabric-lover ran her own handmade Lingerie Etsy shop. She drinks a lot of tea and shares a mix of dressmaking projects and fashion history on her Instagram @roisin_handmade.
