Free Embroidery Designs

I’ve been embroidering since I was three, and have taught a number of beginners some of the basics. I usually use aida for their first lessons, because it’s easy to see the holes, and you get some practice at working stitches regularly. Here’s a good site:
http://www.needlenthread.com/videos and another:
http://www.embroiderersguild.com/stitch/stitches/index.html

My suggestion: pick a few stitches you like the looks of and play with them a bit. Develop your own variations. Sketch a design and try some stitches on it. Here’s a piece of wrought iron art:
http://dhruvphoto.blogspot.com/2007/03/madien-hair-fern-could-fit-in-graphic.html that I turned into a quilt square for a friend — I used three stitches: stem, feather and a variant of the french knot, and three shades of green — I was pleased: http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/21784677

Head for the library for some books on embroidery — there are all sorts of formal styles of embroidery, ranging from cross stitch to blackwork to redwork to whitework to polychrome; free stitching and counted thread work; work on surface fabrics and work "in the air" like stumpwork. Play. It can be a really cheap hobby, and one you can keep handy for fidgeting — a square of fabric and a needle and a skein of embroidery thread can easily fit in an altoids box.

DMC has, over the years, done tremendous amounts of design books for embroidery ("DMC Library"). Particularly if you’re interested in historical styles, they can be an excellent resource. Here are a few more books, some beginnerish, some advanced… just have fun:






www.amazon.com/Mountmellick-Work-Irish-White-Embroidery/dp/0851055125

Don’t let first projects overwhelm you, think small at first — a little featherstitch or chain stitch variant covers the top of a pocket or around a cuff in very little time, and is much less discouraging than getting yourself into the middle of a needlepoint rug project. And choose a small oval hoop for your first hoop. They’re easy to hold and work around. Me? I mostly work in hand, without a hoop. Even easier once you’ve gotten the idea of thread tensions taught to your fingers.

FWIW, these are the usual types of hoops I give to beginners — easy to adjust, hold the fabric well, light in the hand, pretty cheap.

www.createforless.com/Darice+Spring+Tension+Hoop+7/pid17632.aspx
(aka tension hoop, spring hoop) (and also works for machine embroidery
and the plastic Susan Bates hoops:
www.createforless.com/Bates+Hoop-La+Embroidery+Hoop+_and_+Frame+5/pid69998.aspx which has an adjustment screw.

5" round is a good size for most women to hold. though I still prefer the oval hoops
that are harder to find. //www.nordicneedle.com/PROD/6980B.html

When you turn pro, go for the scroll frames or q snaps and similar, if you want to work in a frame.

Okay….so I have a stupid question. I really want to try cross stitching/embroidery but I have no idea what that material is called or where to get it. Not aida cloth, but that plain white fabric you always see people use in embroidery hoops.

Any ideas?

Take a look at this fabric… it’s plain old muslin, and you can get it at any fabric store, or even the Walmarts that haven’t thrown every bolt of fabric out.
Probably in the range of $2-5/yard for 45" wide fabric.
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/21784677
That’s about a 10" wide piece shown there… here’s what the fabric looks like up close:
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/22521551
the machine stitches here are 3 mm long.

This is what I typically give to beginners for surface embroidery, or for doing stamped cross stitch. It’s cheap, easy to work with and holds up well.

The real secret of embroidery is that once you know what you’re doing, you can embroider on anything you can get a needle through, from the most delicate silk organza like the wings of this dragonfly: http://stitchinfingers.ning.com/photo/stumpwork-dragonfly?context=user
to heavy velvets http://www.hchc.edu/hellenic/campus_life/library/archbishop_iakovos_collection/gallery.html?pic=15 and even leather: http://natural-history.uoregon.edu/metis_textiles13

If you want to do counted cross stitch, then a fabric where you can really see the holes, like aida or evenweave linen, is easier to start with. I usually start beginners at about 10 stitches per inch.