Embroidery has been around forever — the earliest surviving pieces of this craft are Scythian, dated to between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE. Virtually every culture has some form of it in their textile art history.
As artist couple Charles and Elin highlighted, the application of embroidery is endless: add some stitches to your shoes, clothes, or bags to upcycle their look. What's that, you want to decorate your walls? No problem, embroidery can help you do that too.
"Embroidery has become our life," Charles and Elin told Bored Panda. "But not just in the sense that it's our chosen vocation; it's so much more than that. On a stressed day, pick up a thread and needle, make a couple of stitches and you will immediately feel your body and mind begin to relax. On a happy day, pick up a thread and needle, make a couple of stitches and the creative endorphins will begin to dance. Embroidery isn't just an ancient craft, it is also a modern art form where you can express visual images in a touchable medium."
And there's no place that celebrates this craft as well as the subreddit r/Embroidery. With 430K members, this online community unites all enthusiasts of the trade who want to exchange tips, techniques, resources, ideas, and to show off their greatest works, of course. At this time, let's focus on the latter.
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A Crow I've Been Embroidering For A Few Months Now. Still Gotta Give Him Feet And A Rock To Stand On
Cockatiel
If you also want to stitch something yourself, the moderators of this subreddit say you have to get the basic supplies first. For hand embroidery, you'll need a hoop, a needle, fabric, and some 6-stranded embroidery floss. That's pretty much it. You do need scissors to snip your thread and a way to transfer the design to your fabric too but these are the things required to actually stitch and likely the only items you don't already have in your home.
Rachel Wright, the creator of an embroidery blog called VirtuoSew Adventures, told Bored Panda the right time to pick up the craft is whenever you feel like it. "My grandmama introduced me to embroidery when I was small, and I really got started in my teens. Because I learned mostly from books, I picked up all sorts of odd stitches and ideas, and just experimented and played."
"I tell stories in stitch — color, texture, and techniques all combine to bring my ideas to life," Wright added. "Embroidery is pretty easy to do, especially with books and videos to follow. It is much harder to do well, of course! My advice would always be, find a needle and thread, and have a go!"
A Really Impressive Embroidered Kitchen Garden
Dr Jill Bidens Coat For Inauguration Night, Featuring All 50 State Flowers. Uruguayan-American Designer Gabriela Hearst Said Each Flower To Between 2-4 Hours By Hand
Amazing! I had no idea her coat pattern was the state flowers. That's genius and super creative.
This Embroidery Took Me Over 40 Hours To Finish But I'm So Proud Of It!
Embroiderer Ania Jakubisiak, who has been stitching stuff since she was a child but really fell in love with it only 4 years ago, told Bored Panda she has learned everything through trial and error and Pinterest. "Embroidery is my way to pay tribute to people I love, characters I admire, and relax during long studying hours," Ania said.
"It's not difficult to start. Invest in a good quality wooden hoop and try out many techniques," she suggested. "You will find the style that fits your hand and aesthetic."
A very good way to start from the absolute beginning, according to the subreddit's mod team, is to order an embroidery kit. "It will have your thread, a needle, a hoop, and a design already worked onto the fabric provided. No analysis paralysis as you stare at the 60+ shades of red, wondering which one might be the best," they explained.
"Kits also have the benefit of explaining what stitches you should be using in what section. Etsy has many kits in many styles available. Once you complete your kit, you then have a hoop and needle to use for other projects as well."
The mods also pointed out that when choosing a kit, it's a good idea to buy from and support a small business rather than purchasing off of Jeff Bezos' space fuel provider, Amazon. "Almost all of the embroidery kits on the site contain stolen patterns from other embroidery artists."
2nd Finished Hoop, Inspired By Hawaii! Experimented W/ Layering Tulle For Water Depth
this is so beautiful reminds me of Moana the island were there was a small turtle and stingrays in water. I think that's what they are called
Diving
I Made A Little Reference Piece For My Future Embroidery Projects. No More Guessing How Many Strands I Should Use And Regretting It Later
I'm So Proud To Share My Embroidery Progress From 2014 - 2020. No Talent Here, Just Hours And Hours Of Practice And Hard Work!
Floating Embroideries. Embroidery On Tulle Using Silk Ribbon, Tapestry And Threads
Bubbles!
wow. this is incredible. the colors and shape are so so perfect!
This Tabby Cat Has So Many Layers Of Stitches That It’s Giving Me A Full Arm Workout
Thought I'd Practice Some Outlines For Spooky Season... Then I Looked At The Back
I Made Some Hand Embroidery Design On Sweaters For A Friend And This One Is My Favorite
Made This Yesterday
I’ve Really Tried To Improve My Embroidered Cat Portraits This Year And I’m So Happy About How This One Came Out! I Almost Quit A Few Times And Started Over But It All Worked Out In The End
Tried My Hand At That Koi Pond Embroidery. I Love How It Turned Out! It's A Gift For My Sister Who Loves Koi
I Used The Holidays To Finish My Lady And The Tramp Design. I Hope You Like It!
I’m Not Creative, But My Therapist Suggested I Try Embroidery To Help With My Anxiety. When I Started This Pre-Drawn Pattern I Didn’t Even Know How To Hold A Needle, Took It One Stitch At A Time. There Were A Lot Of Mistakes, But I’m Chuffed! I Hope You Like It
Duck
A 3D Skeleton In The Undergrowth
Fish
Honey Bee Embroidery On A Guitar Strap
First Time Posting Here, Fourth Kit Completed
Brand New At Posting On Reddit, But I Brought This Little Pink Cow To Say Hi!! I Hope It... Amooses You
My Take On Homer. I Never Expected How Many Hours (And Meters Of Thread) This Is Going To Take But The Result Was Totally Worth It!
Whenever I see this picture I'm reminded of the jokes about Sean Spicer hiding in the bushes.
The Finished Little Birdie In Docs!
My First Embroidered Landscape! This Took Me 4 Months To Finish!
My Girlfriend Just Passed Away But This Was The Last Thing She Embroidered. It's A Bowl Of Ramen, Our Favorite Thing To Eat Together
My Most Recent Embroidery! Im So Proud Of It !
After Years Of Stitching Other People’s Pets, I Finally Embroidered My Own Girl: Meet Abby!
Finally Finished This One For Myself. My Favorite Pusheen Drawing
My Second Embroidery Piece - A Scene From 'Howls Moving Castle'
Christmas Present For My Dad. Whenever He’s Feeling Proud Of Me He Will Look At Me, Look Down At His Arm, And Say “Right Here, You Used To Fit Right Here” In Reference To Being Able To Hold Me In One Arm As A Baby. I Love Him
Did A Picture Of My Friends On Their Wedding Day
I Embroidered A Field Full Of Poppies On A Mini Canvas And Loving The Result
And That’s A Wrap On 2020! I’ve Had Such A Great Time Working On This Piece Over The Past 366 Days, I Can’t Wait To See What 2021 Has In Store!
Putting The Hand In Hand Embroidery
I'm Very Proud Of My First Two-Hoop Design!
It Took A Month, But I Got My Brother’s Birthday Present Done With Time To Spare!!! Calvin And Hobbes!
For Those Who Always Wonder How Long It Takes Me, I Like To Show Them This Picture: One Year Worth Of Completed Pieces
You Need To Squint For This One
Currently Making Jar Covers For Some Of My Favorite Herbs
My Girlfriend Did This, Proud Of Her
Mice With Their Berries By Mayuka Morimoto
My Most Detailed Piece To Date - Took ~6wks, Single Strand!
Paper Plane
Finished This Botanical Lemon
My Dad's Handwriting. A Reminder For Myself. I Miss Him Every Day
It’s Not Perfect, But I’m Very Proud Of This!
A Rainbow Of Abstract Pieces I've Been Working On This Year
Y’all! I Just Placed My Last Stitch! I Haven’t Washed Or Finished The Back Yet, But After Over 50 Hours Of Work... I Had To Share With Someone!
The Root Of All Trust Issues: Sewing Supplies In A Cookie Tin
5.5 Skeins Later, I Finished My Piece! Extremely Happy With It
A Little Progress Every Day Leads To Big Results! My Embroidery From 2016 vs. 2020
My Grandad Passed Away Last Friday, I’m In Denmark And Can’t Get Back To The UK To Be With My Family & Say Goodbye. So I Spent The Week Working Through My Grief By Creating This Piece
I’m So Happy With How This Turned Out
So Proud Of These Sardines!
Update: After All Those French Knots I'm Almost Tempted To Leave It Like This... Almost!
A Present For My Beekeeping Boyfriend. My First Big Embroidery Project!
Did I Just Spend Several Hours Embroidering A Deer To Fix A Very Tiny Hole In My Scarf? Yes. Yes I Did
Finished My Strawberry Hat Just In Time For Spring
My Best Friend Eloped And Moved To A New City! Very Happy To Give Them This Gift To Remember Some Wonderful Things That Happened During This Otherwise Difficult Year
I Couldn’t Help Myself
Death Cab For Cutie- Transatlanticism Album Art
I’m In Love With This Wave Again So Little Embroidery
I’ve Cross Stitched For Years, But Finally Made The Jump To Embroidery. My First Piece Isn’t Perfect But I Love It!
As Requested, A Throwback To My First Three Hawaiian Shirt Hoops...almost A Year Ago!
Borrowed A Page Out Of Hannah Hill’s Book For My Second Project. Happy Women’s History Month!
This Studio Ghibli Embroidery Of Mine Has Been Rattling Around The Internet For A Few Months, But It’s My First Time Posting On Reddit
Little Night Time Garden
This is beautiful, I love what was done to give the illusion of light
Second Time Embroidering, First Time Needle Felting!
Made This For A Friend Of Her Beautiful Home Village
The Beach, Needle Painting Landscape, 39 Colors Used
My Wife Made Starry Night Using Inward Spiralling Lines
You Seemed To Enjoy My Treehouse, Here Is Another Piece Inspired By The Same Metropark!
After 100ish Hours Of Work, I’m So Happy To Say This Beast Is Done!!
First Time I Embroidered With Wool. Love How Fluffy It Looks. What Do You Think? The Pattern Was Designed By Me
[fo] I Something New... Aerial Embroidery. Its Messy But A Good Start
I Abandoned A Project That Was All Browns And Greys In Favor Of Some Color! Fruit Salad Season Is Coming Up
Helped My 70 Year Old Aunt Move Today And Was Just Floored By This Wildflower Map Of The United States. She Said Her Grandmother (My Great Grandma) Had Made It
My Latest Creation - An Embroidered Potting Shed!
It Was Out Of My Comfort Zone But Very Proud Of The Outcome
Alien Abduction Mixed Media Embroidery Hoop, One Of My Faves I’ve Done!
Decided To Try And Recreate My Son’s Favourite Sweatshirt From When He Was 6 For A Christmas Present This Year. He’s Now 26 And 6’4”. I’ll Let You Know What He Thinks!
Embroidery Has Saved My Sanity These Last Couple Of Days!
Spent My First Day Of School Quarantine Embroidering The External Carotid Vessels
I'm Very Obviously A Beginner, But My Boyfriend Had One Request For A Birthday Gift, And Who Was I To Say No
My Sisters First Ever Embroidery Piece. She's Never Even Done The Practice Hoop. I'm So Proud Of How Well She's Done, Maybe A Little Jealous
In Honor Of National Embroidery Month...my Studio Wall Full Of My Embroidery Hoops!
Slowly Embroidering My Way Through A Book Full Of Botanical Illustrations! This Is My Latest Project - Heath Aster
Been Struggling With Intrusive Thoughts Lately, This Was The Result
I Hand-Embroidered Some Leaves Onto A Dress I Made Myself
Blue Porcelain Inspired Hoop!
My First Embroidery In The "Thread Painted" Style vs. My Most Recent, Just Over Three Years Apart. Practice Really Does Pay Off!
Sunflowers And Pumpkins. An Autumnal Embroidered Landscape
My Endlessly-Talented Girlfriend Made This Freehand Embroidery Of Hogwarts
All Finished. Natasha Lyonne In Role As Nadia Vulvokov From "Russian Doll." 40ish Hours Of Stitching, Mostly Consumed By Her Amazing Hair
My Friends Were Making Enough Sourdough To Feed Half The World, So I Decided To Do This. Flowerbomb...my Fjällräven Kånken Laptop 13" In Ox Red
I Tried To Do A Self Portrait
Wanderer
Ive Been Doing Embroidery For 2 Months Now And I’m Very Proud Of This One I Recently Finished “Atlas” (Based Off A Renaissance Sketch)
Tried My Hand At Hair Embroidery. Scene Of Jim And Pam From The Final Season Of The Office
Phew! Don’t Think I Will Use Blue Thread Again For A While
A Billion Colonial Knots Later...
Just A Pile Of Fish Heads
I Just Recently Got Into Embroidery And Made This Face Mask. So Happy How It Turned Out!
Embroidered My Dissertation Topic Onto A Sweatshirt!
Now The Proud Owner Of Carpal Tunnel Disease
Progress: Nicki, Me, Hand Embroidery And Beading On Cotton, 2020. Whatchu Think!?
5 Days And A Hundred French Knots Later
My First Attempt At Embroidering
Figures In A Pool
This is good for my soul, even though I've never done anything but tent stitch
Embroidery is one craft I never got the hang of, not even for making bears noses, so I'm am in awe at these.
This is good for my soul, even though I've never done anything but tent stitch
Embroidery is one craft I never got the hang of, not even for making bears noses, so I'm am in awe at these.