Embroidery fans, assemble! We’re huge fans of creativity, art, and making things with your hands. We wouldn’t be Bored Panda if we weren’t. And the r/Embroidery subreddit never fails to impress us!
An online community of nearly 703k ‘stitchers,’ it’s a space that’s dedicated to hand and machine embroiderers to exchange tips, techniques, resources, and ideas. Not to mention share their incredibly impressive creations!
We’ve collected some of the most impressive recent projects that were shared and praised on the r/Embroidery subreddit to inspire you Pandas to give embroidery a shot. So scroll down and upvote the works that wowed you the most. And if you’re ever in need of some additional inspiration, check out Bored Panda’s previous features about r/Embroidery here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
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I Think This Is The Greatest Thing I’ve Ever Stitched
Morning On Mt. Sanitas, 8" Landscape. This Took Absolutely Forever!
My 9 Year Old Son Did This Free Hand And Wanted To Share
Truth time, Pandas. Yours truly is absolutely horrible with a needle and thread. I’ve certainly tried embroidery in the past, but I was pretty darn bad at it. I was impatient, clumsy, and the furthest you can get away from neatness without leaving Planet Earth. You should see me trying to sew in a button.
Embroidery certainly isn’t my go-to hobby (it’s painting and drawing!), but I really appreciate quality crafts with all of my heart. Especially when they demonstrate amazing results that I myself couldn’t aspire to without putting in years and years of dedication.
Whats The Best Quality Embroidery You’ve Ever Seen? This Cat Embroidery Is By Hiroko Kubota And The Attention To Detail Is Amazing
Lots Of French Knots On 9” Hoop
It Took Me Several Months To Finish This 8" Pet Portrait - I Even Ombré Dyed The Fabric Myself!
Like all skills and hobbies, embroidery requires a lot of patience, the ability to adapt on the fly, and the willingness to embrace your mistakes and move past them.
Learning any new thing or skill will certainly have its frustrating moments. Nobody truly enjoys failing. But developing a different perspective and seeing failure as an opportunity for growth is well worth it. In all aspects of life.
New Finished Embroidery
Coral Reef Day/Night
And It’s
Founded all the way back in early 2010, the r/Embroidery subreddit has enjoyed 12+ years of moderate success. It’s seen massive growth the past two years. The online community is slowly on its way to getting a solid million members. Since Bored Panda’s last feature about the sub, in June, the group has grown from 628k to almost 703k members.
Velociraptor Piece I Am Working On!
Thread Painting On 8” Hoop. This One Is Challenging, I Struggle A Lot On The Body
After Having Many Conflicted Thoughts About This Piece, It Is Finally Finished And I Am Quite Happy With How It Turned Out!!
A lot of the subreddit’s growth is down to the current moderator team, running the entire show. Previously, one of the moderators, u/kallisti_gold explained to Bored Panda that they asked to take over the online community via r/RedditRequest. Originally, the sub was created by a spam bot.
After clearing out all of the spam and doing a bit of spring cleaning, the new mod let the community grow organically. "I wanted a place to talk about embroidery, and I've tried to foster that kind of environment for the community to flourish in,” they told Bored Panda earlier.
The Four Seasons Of Homer Disappearing Into A Bush. What Do You Think- Are The Fabric Choices Ok?
First Time Entering A Competition
Mixed Material Embroidery. What Do You Think?
“[The] community is full of passionate hobbyists and enthusiasts, always ready with a compliment, constructive suggestions for improvement, or to answer any questions for folks who need some guidance,” the moderator said.
"We've seen huge growth in the community since early 2020. Being cooped up inside will make anyone frustrated enough to stab something a couple of thousand times, I guess,” u/kallisti_gold quipped, referring to the subreddit’s tagline, “Embroidery: When you don't know whether to make art or stab something.”
Made A 9” Thread Painting Landscape. Can’t Tell Which One Is More Time Consuming, French Knot Flowers Or Tiny Stitches Trees
French knots. It normally ends in tears. Treated myself to a beauty and the beast kit, to make the enchanted rose but i’m putting off starting due to the knots! It’s not something i’m skilled at, and my clicky joints and fingers that lock up can make it painful, but for some reason I love doing embroidery. It’s peaceful, and makes me shut the world out. Plus you get something (hopefully) pretty at the end to keep. Have found it helps with my depression, feels like you’ve made a small achievement each time you finish something.
Today Is World Mental Health Day And I Just Want To Say To Each And Every Person That Reads This, You Are Magical & Deserve To Be Here, Hold On And Always Have Hope
Pocket Full Of Posies
One of the other moderators, redditor u/Zesparia, created a fantastic FAQ page 10 months ago for new members and embroidery enthusiasts both new and veteran alike. In it, the moderator shares tips and tricks that any beginner will find useful. Meanwhile, it’s a nice refresher even for those embroidery enthusiasts who already have years or even decades of experience under their belts.
First Post, Make It Count
For the person who didn't get it, it's a reference to abortion. I gather, more precisely illegal/non medical abortions and how the law has changed in the US.
First Piece Ever. I Wanted To Share With Y’all Since I Have Nobody In Real Life To Share It With! This Thing Was So Frustrating
Another ~ Spooky ~ Design!
The subreddit only has three rules. First of all—don’t be a jerk. That one’s pretty straightforward. Just treat others like you’d expect to be treated. Follow the Golden Rule and suddenly the internet becomes a far friendlier place.
Secondly, you should always strive to give credit where it’s due. If you aren’t the original embroiderer of a particular project, you have to mention the original artist. And finally, self-promotion ought to be limited to mod-posted mega threads.
Portrait For A Friend Who Lost A Child. This Was His Favorite Hiking Trail
My Third Attempt- Very Much A Beginner So Please Be Kind!
A Tale As Old As Time…
The best way to start embroidering is to get some supplies. The basics include a hoop, a needle, some fabric, and some 6-stranded embroidery floss. A pair of scissors is also useful.
The FAQ notes that “a very good way to start from the absolute beginning 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.”
My Beautiful Octopus Ready To Go Back To The Ocean
Fox For My Housemate On Her Jacket
Don’t Believe Everything You Think
What’s more, these embroidery kits also explain what stitches you should be using in what section. “Once you complete your kit you then have a hoop and needle to use for other projects as well. When finding a kit, it's a good idea to buy from and support a small business rather than purchasing off of Amazon. Almost all of the embroidery kits on Amazon contain stolen patterns from other embroidery artists,” moderator u/Zesparia writes.
I’ve Been Working On This For A While And I’m Happy To Finally Be Able To Put It Out There. The Last 1.5 Years Have Been Rough, With Multiple Life Changing Events, And Stitching Kept Me Sane. Worked On The Back Looking Better Too. Design By Trish Burr
My Grandpa Wrote This To Me On My Wedding Day (To Be Read On Our First Anniversary). He Passed Away Suddenly Two Months Later So I Embroidered This Note To Memorialize Him
Giant Jungle Update! Come A Long Way Since Last Post
Have you ever given embroidery a shot, dear Pandas? How did you enjoy it? Perhaps you’re an embroidery grandmaster with tons of experience? We’d love to hear your thoughts about the hobby as a whole, as well as the works we’re featuring in this list, so drop by the comments and share your two cents. Meanwhile, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a couple of buttons to try and sew on… Go on without me, this might take a while.
First Time Embroidering A Sweater! It's Far From Perfect, But I'm V Proud
the hungry hungry caterpillar is putting his skills to good use it seems
Bleached Out Coral Reef Embroidery This Has Been A Stop, Start Piece Of Work. I Have Found It A Conflicting Piece To Work On. I Have Made Some Good Progress This Week And Am Determined To Finish It
Detailed Pet Embroidery Portrait. It’s Really Challenging Fo Do A Such Realistic Portrait
So, After A While I Made A Post Asking For Help Here, And I Finally Finished My First Embroidery, What Do You Guys Think? I Need Some Feedbacks
All The French Knots In The World Haha
My 2-Year-Old’s First Embroidery Piece! She Calls It “Sprinkles”
Starling Work In Progress
Gift For The Vet Who Spent Four Hours With An Endoscope Extracting Embroidery Needles And Bits Of Pincushion From My Idiot Dog's Stomach
This is why all my sewing items go back into a drawer if I am done with them - or even if I am walking away from sewing for a sec just to use the restroom. XD I have two cats and I do not want to risk an obstruction or a linear foreign body. Cats and doggos are too clever for their own good XD
First Embroidery Piece
A Sunday Afternoon, 6” Hoop
Looks like they're leaping off the hoop! They're so beautiful, feels like spring!
Sophie From Howls Moving Castle In A 12 Inch Hoop!
Just Finished! Any Advice On How To Keep Definition When Working On Small Details?
"Grasses Of Great Britain" - A Winner From The Designer Bookbinders Competition
First Attempt Shoe Embroidery - Regretting Choosing * White *, Dirty Way Too Easily
Peony And Butterfly
Just Finished This Jean Jacket!
I Like To Take Photographs Of Plants After It Rains. So I Decided To Try And Make An Embroidery Mimicking Those Photographs. Here's My First Sample
Progress Update - Almost Complete
My New Mixed Media Embroidery
Patty And Selma
4” Lightning Hoop Made With Felt And Embroidery!
Saw This Last Night In The Bathroom Of A Mexican Restaurant. Probably The Most Amazing Embroidery I've Ever Seen
As Many Of You Suggested, I've Decided The Continue The Project. Here I Present The Stretch
My Latest Hoop
This Was My Friend Tiffany. Tiff Died In A Car Accident 17 Years Ago, When We Were Both 15 Years Old. She Was An Awesome Tennis Player, Loved Ice Cream With Rainbow Sprinkles And Playing The Guitar, And Had A Terrible Singing Voice. I Miss Her, So I Stitched Her
Finished This Beautiful Mushroom Pattern By Emilie Ferris
[oc] The Window Seat
Something A Little Different. My Mom Wanted A Beta Fish Embroidery So Here’s The Wip (Based On A Kit). The Beads *really* Slow Down The Back Stitch
Finished This Gift For A Dear Friend!
I Finally Finished It My Wizard Of Oz Piece With A Sparkly Silver Trim
A Gift For My Friend Who Recently Received A Heart Transplant
Finished My Very First Embroidery
I Give You My First Embroidering Project! Made This As A Cotton Anniversary Present For My Husband. (Clearly) I Didn’t Know About Pre-Planning My Space Or Design But I Made Due With Several Different Hoops And Mixed Techniques. Feeling Pretty Psyched To Learn More!
“Lovebirds” I Coped With The Passing Of My Aunt And Uncle Through This Embroidery, They Were Married For Over 50 Years
I Made This Custom Made Wedding Hoop For Couples.. Personalised
This is a very beautiful wedding keepsake. I hope they have the best of luck. The work of the keepsake is so detailed and adorable. I'm sure they will treasure it always.
My Wife Just Finished This Woodland Scene With The Cutest Little Sleeping Fox Hidden Away In It. It's Her First Mix Of Embroidery And Acrylic On Linen. I Think It's Stunning, But I Might Be Just A Little Biased!
Spooky Embroidery. Charcoal Accents
114 Colors, Each Line Is From A Different Thread
I Had Some Break Of My Hobby, But Now I Can Show You My New Embroidery. I Started It In April And Finish It Today! I Missed This Feeling So Much…
Designed And Embroidered Name Favors For Our Wedding Guests. Over Fifty Names, It Was So Worth It!
Pardon My Bad Handwriting. My Dad Passed Suddenly. I Wanted Him To Have This And Sent It To Be Cremated With Him. My Very First Embroidery, Done Through Many Tears, Helped Me A Lot
I lost my father last year. I wish I had thought of sending something to be cremated with him. I didn't know you could do that.
A Little Stack Of Happiness
My Hand Embroidery Work And First Post Here
First Project For Myself In Over A Year. I Love It!
A Snoopy Hoop I Made
My First Project!
So very pretty and so much detail in the whale 🐋. So very well done.
Canadian Prairies
Remade My Original Design Using Brighter Colors!
Beaded Pomegranate! Wondering If I Should Make It Into A Patch
The Difference A Few Years Of Practice Make
Gorgeous squid! There's a Panda with a squid 🐙 in their name Zara something... I think she would approve. I saw her earlier in the posts, someone will have to tell her about the precious squid here!
Another Landscape Thread Painting 9” Hoop
The Powerpuff Girls! A Fun Mixed Media Piece Made By Me
Here's A Piece I Created A While Back
My Fruity Embroidered Brooch Collection !
This is the first time I've liked a citrus slice artwork. Generally, I dislike them because they're too symmetrical, appearing more as cartoons. You've copied the irregularities in the fruit, and I love this.
Witnessed This Lady Working On Some Amazing Embroidery In Bilbao - Spain
For The Past 4 Years I’ve Designed A Halloween Hoop, Here Is This Years! The Colors Are All Darker And More Muted Irl (My Phone Camera Apparently Hates Orange). Stitching This Was A Fun Time
I Won A First Place Ribbon For This Embroidery At My State Fair!
Pregnancy Loss. On May 25th Our Daughter, Sophie, Was Stillborn. As A Way To Cope, I've Started Embroidering Hoops For Other Families Who Have Lost Babies In Her Honor (All Completely Free Of Charge). Here's My First Batch We Well As The Original Hoop That I Made For Her
My Take On The Spongebob Window Trend! It’s A Little Wonky Since The Hoop Was Cheap And It’s My First Time Completely Filling In A Piece
Finished My Hoops For My Friends’ Booked Themed Nursery!
Recent Projects
Cool Water On A Hot Day!
A Chonky Tiger
My First Embroidery Project! Made On The Inside Of My Tote Bag. Tips/Tricks/Constructive Criticism Welcome :)
Back In 2020, During Lockdown, This Was My First Embroidery Project! Not Perfect But I Really Love It!
First Proper Embroidery - 8 Months Late For My Moms Birthday But I Got There!
Transformation
Guys, We Got First Place!
I Embroidered Haku From Spirited Away. Tell Me What You Think!
A While Ago I Panic Posted About My Sister's Wedding Veil. Here's The Result! I'll Comment With Process + Advice (Short Answer: Don't)
My Stitch Of William Morris’s, “The Strawberry Thief”
On A Whim I Wanted To See If I Could Make Felt Patches To Stitch On Felt Hats And Embroider/Ribbon Work Over Them. It Was A Successful Experiment!
I Gifted My Religious Grandma With This Embroidery And She Loved It!
My First Embroidery Project!
Practice Makes Something
My First Realistic Piece
My Best Work So Far :d
Birthday Present For My Younger Cousin
A Made Up "Lily Tarot Card" For My Beloved Cousin Lilian That Is Studying This Art
This Was A Fun Hoop To Stitch Because I Was Able To Incorporate One Strand French Knot Detailing— His Hair & Sherpa Lined Jacket Made For The Perfect Opportunity To Bring Texture To The Hoop!
Honeycomb Chunk I Made
Embroidered Bone Boi
Two Years And A Billion French Knots Later, She's Finally Done
Embroidered My Country's National Flower
Indicative That I Am A Foolish Human Being, But It’ll Be Amazing If I Ever Finish
I Call It, “Bold And Brash”
It's Not Perfect, But It's My Favorite Piece So Far :)
Lil Mushy Skull! Based Off A Tattoo Design. Starting To Get The Hang Of This :)
No Creative Signal. So I Made This
Cross Posting This Citrus And Sunflower Sugar Skull
You can see the full photo if you follow the link at the bottom of the picture.
My First Thread Painting Style Embroidery And My First Detailed Face
Design I Did On My Daughter’s Jeans
Knocked Up A Sign For My Bathroom For Something To Do :)
A "Controversial" Embroidery I Made A While Back
Uncle Iroh Is Finally Finished! He Was The Only Thing I Worked On For A Year And I'm So Proud Of How He Came Out
I’m Really Enjoying Stitching My Children’s Artwork. This Friendly Snack Was Created By My 5yo 💜
I Think Cartoons Look Best In A Hoop
My Progress In Just Over A Year!
I Just Really Like Embroidering Hands
Some Mushroom Girls
I Made This As A Wedding Present For The Couple Pictured Based On One Of Their Engagement Photos. The Plaid Shirts Were Fun But Took Forever! Swipe For Closeups And Reference Picture
Bob’s House
I Like Swords So Embroidered One
I Stitched Alexis Nikole Nelson, Aka Blackforager, Holding A Tiny Juniper Sprig. Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!
Him! Embroidery, Ink, And Acrylic
I Just Really Like Elyse Myers And Her Wild Stories And Wilder Hair
What Am I Doing Wrong With My Split Stitch?
I Saw Someone Post Their “Double Vision” That Reminded Me Of This Quarantine Project I Did
A Silly Idea, An Embroidered Pokémon Card! 25x16, 14 Colors
I Had My Frame Zoomed In On The Hands, Lost Sight Of The Big Picture. And Now I Can’t Stop Laughing
Good But Not The Best
I wish I had a fraction of the patience and talent that these people do.
My mother taught me when I was young. I think that you would have them if you were taught while still a child.
Load More Replies...I'm thinking about taking this up as my new hobby. I still have a few pieces of amazing embroidery my mom did more than 50 years ago. :)
Load More Replies...Wish BP had not shortened this post to the top 50. The top 50 voting system seems flawed to me because people will upvote the first couple of posts and not scroll to the later posts so some amazing submissions don’t get votes. Maybe some fairness is restored if posts are originally posted in order of submission?
Some amazing talent here. Every single item is just wonderful. Can't believe it's actually embroidery. Took my breath away.
Such talent everyone has on this post! I have a tough time sewing a button back on shirt! everything was beautiful!!
Astounding! I've heard that people embroider to relax. I'm afraid if I tried it I'd be breaking things. Lots of things.
Your mind goes into a different place while you're embroidering (or any craft, for that matter). It's called "the flow state." You don't judge things while you're in this state. You're only concentrating on one stitch: just this stitch, and how to make it perfect. And then the next.
Load More Replies...Without exception, every one of you did incredibly beautiful work! I've only cross stitched a few items, but can no longer hold the needles, so have gone back to crocheting and drawing. All of you, please know that no matter what YOU see in your work, "out here" it looks truly spectacular. Kudos to all of you!
Some of these pieces were so lovely, it inspired me to learn embroidery myself. I never knew it could give such results, because I don't know anyone, who does such stuff.
You should have had my mother. She taught me how to embroider starting when I was about seven. She told me that my stitches had to be perfect, and if they weren't, she would make me take them out and do them again. Even if the imperfect one was far back in the row, I would have to take out the whole row to correct the offending stitch. She also said that the back had to be almost as neat as the front. It sounds horrible but it really wasn't. It taught me patience and accuracy. Now people compliment me on my embroidery and I owe it all to my mother. My stitches are almost always perfect, too. I'm 76 now.
I wish I had a fraction of the patience and talent that these people do.
My mother taught me when I was young. I think that you would have them if you were taught while still a child.
Load More Replies...I'm thinking about taking this up as my new hobby. I still have a few pieces of amazing embroidery my mom did more than 50 years ago. :)
Load More Replies...Wish BP had not shortened this post to the top 50. The top 50 voting system seems flawed to me because people will upvote the first couple of posts and not scroll to the later posts so some amazing submissions don’t get votes. Maybe some fairness is restored if posts are originally posted in order of submission?
Some amazing talent here. Every single item is just wonderful. Can't believe it's actually embroidery. Took my breath away.
Such talent everyone has on this post! I have a tough time sewing a button back on shirt! everything was beautiful!!
Astounding! I've heard that people embroider to relax. I'm afraid if I tried it I'd be breaking things. Lots of things.
Your mind goes into a different place while you're embroidering (or any craft, for that matter). It's called "the flow state." You don't judge things while you're in this state. You're only concentrating on one stitch: just this stitch, and how to make it perfect. And then the next.
Load More Replies...Without exception, every one of you did incredibly beautiful work! I've only cross stitched a few items, but can no longer hold the needles, so have gone back to crocheting and drawing. All of you, please know that no matter what YOU see in your work, "out here" it looks truly spectacular. Kudos to all of you!
Some of these pieces were so lovely, it inspired me to learn embroidery myself. I never knew it could give such results, because I don't know anyone, who does such stuff.
You should have had my mother. She taught me how to embroider starting when I was about seven. She told me that my stitches had to be perfect, and if they weren't, she would make me take them out and do them again. Even if the imperfect one was far back in the row, I would have to take out the whole row to correct the offending stitch. She also said that the back had to be almost as neat as the front. It sounds horrible but it really wasn't. It taught me patience and accuracy. Now people compliment me on my embroidery and I owe it all to my mother. My stitches are almost always perfect, too. I'm 76 now.