This past Monday and Tuesday night’s I taught a beginner embroidery class at Gather Goods Co. Students got to pick one of four of my designs that I assembled into kits for them. I assembled 26 kits over a few days. Kits included a #5 embroidery needle, a 3″ wooden hoop, a pre-printed piece of fabric with the design of their choice on it (either a hydrangea, zinnia or butterfly bush flower), the accompanying embroidery floss in the colors they would need for their design and a card with the corresponding embroidery floss numbers on them in case they need more – though they shouldn’t. I also included a take home guide with instructions and a picture guide with illustrations of a few additional stitches beyond the basic ones we learned in class: the satin and running stitches.

For all the classes I teach I am for them to be laid-back and accessible, relaxing and conversational but still walking away with a new project to grow into. What’s cool about embroidery is you can keep it as simple or make it as complicated as you want learning a myriad of complicated stitches if you chose to. I just enjoy it as a relaxing craft that keeps me off my phone in the evenings and allows my brain to relax and get into a flow state.

Because the gift shop is small and the front room that is usually merchandised with gift products also functions as the classroom I have to take down all the merchandise on the front table and bring in folding chairs and additional tables for the class. For each class I provide light snacks and drinks. At the beginning of each class we go around and share recommended books, shows and podcasts as an icebreaker and to get to know one another better. It feels wonderful to connect with others and have authentic conversations around a variety of topics, plus everyone leaves with new things to discover as well. At the end of the class everyone is able to shop the gift shop and they get 10% off items in the store if they purchase them at that time.

Here are some additional stitches that are good to know and practice for embroidery, though again, it doesn’t have to be complicated:

And some additional items I recommend for embroidery projects:

– A needle minder which is essentially a magnet that helps you to not lose your needle
– Embroidery scissors to help you trim your thread ends
– A pouch to keep your projects nearby
– A clip on light for making things easier on your eyes
– Extra needles because they are easy to lose
– An embroidery floss kit and case with so many colors

Sign up for a class

If you’re local and live in the Raleigh, Cary, Durham, North Carolina areas you can sign up for another class at Gather Goods Co on the website here including this Beginner Embroidery Class but also other craft and flower arranging, business and photography classes here. If you’re not local you can sign up for the free beginner embroidery guide PDF that I created for the class and get added to the waitlist for the online class at the bottom of this post.

Last but not least, I’ll leave you with this pretty embroidery by Cristin Morgan. I love the organic squiggle shapes and the colors in this piece. It’s a perfect illustration of how a simple pattern with bold color can really make a stunning statement.