embroidery resources

Honestly, I'm not sure how to describe embroidery overall; there are lots of different little branches and types of stitches to try out. So I'll just mention some little things that will save you a lot of frustration when you're first starting out:

  • thread / floss tangles soooo easily!! i've found it's better to just work with a piece the length of your forearm to avoid really bad issues
  • you don't necessarily want to use all six strands all the time. it's actually really easy to separate them, but don't be greedy! you have to do it one at a time or else the floss gods will punish you for your hubris
  • for that matter, Needle'n'Thread is a really helpful site for finding new stitches, beginner explanations, etc!
  • be sure to swatch your floss colors on the fabric (or whatever other material you're using) to make sure they actually go together, or, most importantly, that they contrast nicely. holding the skeins or bobbins side by side is one thing, but the colors can often look different when actually stitched, so be careful!
  • if you're embroidering details like a face, try using a whipped backstitch to make thicker, more solid lines
  • when copying a pattern on fabric, etc, be sure to test on a small piece how whatever you're marking with behaves. by which i mean, sometimes "water soluable markers" aren't actually water soluable, and sometimes they need the aggitation of a full wash cycle to come out and just dabbing it with water will make a bleedy mess! i've heard good things about frixxon pens, but being heat reactive means that, while they'll come out with an iron, they return in cold weather, so that might be an issue.

Besides that, crossstitching is one of the aforementioned branches of embroidery and is, itself, very straightforward, so perhaps it's better to skip all the introductory fluff and jump right into asking where you can find patterns to crossstitch and what you can do with it, instead.

I'd really recommend flipping through Sirithre's site for ideas about different types of finishes, how to use plastic canvas, composing patterns, etc! She has so much cool stuff going on!

To make your own patterns / adapt existing pixel art, you can use FlossCross. It generates a nice numbered grid and even picks out approximate thread color matches for you -- very helpful! And for finding pixel art, in general, besides making it yourself or something like that, you could also yoink it from the GOAT, Spriter's Resource. <3

Happy stitching!