Embroidery novice seeks guidance

I want very much to learn embroidery, and I am hopeful that some kind person
may offer guidance and tips on how I might begin. The idea of trying to
learn from a book is a bit frightening for me, as I have always learned most
easily from person-to-person instruction, but the fact that I do not have
access to someone who could teach embroidery leaves me with few options.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Betty Hill
Swainsboro, GA

Welcome Betty.
There are people at this group who are expert in every kind of stitchery
you can imagine, so please come often and ask questions.
I am not one of those expert people, but here are a few suggestions. If
you can find a small kit for the kind of stitchery you are interested in
learning, this is often a good way to start. For me, when I started
something like crewel, having everything I needed right there was
reassuring. I didn't have to worry about what kind of needle, or would
this fabric be okay. (Materials in kits vary, and some are not the best,
but time enough to deal with that later. However, do get a kit of
reasonable quality so you will not be completely frustrated by
self-knotting thread and limp fabric.) If you ask, I am sure people can
recommend some designers whose kits are good learning experiences. Thea
Dueck (Victoria Sampler) is one who comes to mind.
I learned lots of stitches from books. Erica Wilson was one writer I
depended on when I was learning, also Carolyn Armbuter. There was a
discussion on this group a few days about on books about stitches with lots
of wonderful suggestions.
Also look at the discussion on Doodle clothes. What people are talking
about are pieces of fabric they use to practice a stitch before trying it
on a project. (See, you are far from the only one learning. Most of us
are).
Also the internet is a rich resource. Classic Stitches magazine has a good
collection of stitch diagrams--people here recommended it to me when I was
wondering about a stitch that was new to me. Dianne Lewandowski (one of
those experts I mentioned earlier) even has video demonstrations of
stitches on her website at Heritage Stitch Shoppe.
You might even be surprised and find someone here at RCTN who lives near
enough to you that you could meet somewhere and have a stitching session.
I am sure others will have helpful suggestions for you.
Dawne

Betty, I do recommend a small beginning embroidery kit,
especially if you don't have access to a teacher. That's
how I began many years ago. There are companies that make
wonderful kits that include everything you need including
detailed instructions.

By the way, when you say "embroidery" are you referring to
traditional embroidery (stem stich, satin stich, French
knots, etc.) or to cross stitch embroidery?

Try this site for a lot of kits. But you much know what
you're looking for first to get going.
http://www.hook-n-needle.com/site_index.htm

My first non-cross stitch embroidery were the table runners
and pillow cases with the design stamped on. I then had a
little book of stitches that I used to do the stitches on
the designs. It was a lot of fun and I still have all the
pieces I did way back then. Hook 'n Needle also has
pre-stamped household items.

MaryR

"Betty Vereen Hill" ) writes:
I want very much to learn embroidery, and I am hopeful that some kind person
may offer guidance and tips on how I might begin. The idea of trying to
learn from a book is a bit frightening for me, as I have always learned most
easily from person-to-person instruction, but the fact that I do not have
access to someone who could teach embroidery leaves me with few options.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Betty Hill
Swainsboro, GA

You will probably get all sorts of different bits of advice. My
suggestion is that you find what we call on rctn an LNS - Local Needlework
Store. If you are going to do much embroidery, you will need to find
where the nearest one is anyway. I am not referring to Michaels, or Jo-Anns
(assuming you live in the USA), but a really genuine LNS. If you cannot
find the nearest one to you, post a message as to where you live, and
someone may know of a good one nearby. Also look in the Yellow Pages.
If you can find an LNS, the people who run it will be an absolute
mine of information. They may run classes, and they will certainly be
able to sell you anything you might like to start on.
As an alternative, tell us where you live, and there might be a local
chapter of EGA (Embroidery Guild of America), or something similar. If
you can find these people, they will be an even bigger mine of
information. But what I am suggesting is that you find a person or
persons with whom you can talk one-on-one. That is the best way to find
out where it is a good idea for you to start. HTH.

--
Jim Cripwell.
The gods do not subtract from the allotted span of one's life, any
time that is spent in stitching.
Adapted from a sign on The Cobb, Lyme Regis, England.

Hi Betty!
I've been doing embroidery since I was a young teen. It's a wonderful art form,
and can be very rewarding... As to learning how, the idea of finding a small
kit is a good one. Elsa Williams has several nice beginning crewel kits
(embroidery and crewel use the same stitches, crewel uses wool yarns instead of
embroidery floss). Discount needlework.com has a good selection, their site is:
http://www.discountneedlework.com/crewelnp.asp.
I prefer crewel because yarn covers the fabric faster, and something about the
way the yarn creates more of a 3d shape on the fabric makes me happy.... :-D
As to personal instruction, you can join the Embroidery Guild of America, if
there is a chapter near you. However, most of the folks I encountered there do
cross stitch, so finding instruction in a less common needlework form can be
more challenging. If you have a good local needlework store, or a frame shop
that specializes in needlework, they may be able to recommend seomone in your
area who does embroidery, and who can help you get started. My
framer/needlework shop owner hosts a stitch night once a month, she also offers
classes in different techniques.
Good luck, welcome to the club, and feel free to email me if you wish,
, I will be happy to provide any advice/instruction I can, but
it's more challenging to do in cyberspace, especially if you are a visual
learner like me who needs to SEE the example as it's being described.

Julie

but the fact that I do not have
access to someone who could teach embroidery leaves me with few options.

Dear Betty,

Have you contacted the Embroiderers' Guild of America in your area? According
to this:

http://www.egausa.org/directory/regiontv.htm

there are at least a couple of chapters in Georgia. EGA is made up of people
who like embroidery; beginners are encouraged. Even if you can't attend
chapter meetings, the local leaders may be able to identify someone who lives
near you who would be willing to give you lessons.

For the first technique, I would recommend counted cross stitch --
historically, it's been the first stitch young girls learn, and it is very
versitile in terms of the designs you can do with it. There's a wonderful
on-line resource he

http://users.rcn.com/kdyer.dnai/index.html

Check out in particular the tutorial and the page of free charts.

HTH, Annie

You got such good advice.

I'll re-iterate: You need to tell us what type of embroidery you're
interested in . . . then we can steer you to the right people and to the
right suggestions/answers, etc.

It is not always possible to have a local needlework shop, and unless
you are interested in counted work (such as cross stitch and Hardanger)
LNS's generally don't carry kits or some supplies for other forms of
embroidery, such as ribbon work, crewel, goldwork, regular surface
embroidery. For instance, if an LNS is geared to counted work, they
generally won't have crewel needles or sharps or hoops. But they'll
have fabulous threads. grin

I teach via mail and email, and I offer some beginner kits. I'm
practical. They're not "wow" pieces, they're learning pieces. You can
do WOWS! later. Work stitches on a doodle cloth, send it to me and I'll
critique it for you. I've been known to send back freshly stitched
samples with the needle imbedded (sometimes more than one needle in more
than one stage of the development of the stitch) so that you can see
exactly what it is you need to do. That's *almost* the same as having
one of us sit by you.

Glad you posted. Ask away. There's so many here that do so many
different types of embroidery . . . somebody will have answers for you.
There's hardly a person around who simply CAN'T learn long distance if
you just don't give up. And as a few mentioned, there might be someone
quite close to you.

Dianne

Betty Vereen Hill wrote:
I want very much to learn embroidery, and I am hopeful that some kind person
may offer guidance and tips on how I might begin. The idea of trying to
learn from a book is a bit frightening for me, as I have always learned most
easily from person-to-person instruction, but the fact that I do not have
access to someone who could teach embroidery leaves me with few options.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Betty Hill
Swainsboro, GA

Betty,
I more or less taught myself embroidery - a good kit, or a book with
good pictures is a help. That's the nice thing with cross-stich -
didn't someone here have a tag line saying there were only two rules -
the thread goes through the eye of the needle and the needle goes
through the fabric?

Seriously, if you can find a local needlework store that would be a
big help. They could help you choose a kit that would help you learn
and many of them run classes if you have the time. Even without a
class, most people I know would give you a hand getting started.
(It's sort of nice form of drug pushers, once you're hooked, they have
a steady customer for life). There is probably a listing in the
yellow pages in your nearest good size town.

Good luck - and welcome.
Janet Rice

Ah hem . . . I see we still have to train a few of you. huge grin
Dianne - putting on Darla's didactic hat.

Janet Rice wrote:
I more or less taught myself embroidery - a good kit, or a book with
good pictures is a help. That's the nice thing with cross-stich -

Originally, Janet Rice wrote:
I more or less taught myself embroidery - a good kit, or a book with
good pictures is a help. That's the nice thing with cross-stich -

To which I replied:
Ah hem . . . I see we still have to train a few of you. huge grin
Dianne - putting on Darla's didactic hat.

Then Elizabeth [Dr. Brat] scolded:
It's not any more attractive on you than it is on her.... Last I
looked, cross stitch was a form of embroidery.

Because there has been a long-held assumption on RCTN that cross stitch
is all there is. Most posters responded more all-encompassing. I've
been doing this (reminding people that RCTN is about needlework and that
there are many forms of it) for as many years as I've been here. And
I'll continue to do it. Though it's rare, these days, that I even have
to put in a reminder. Five years ago, the only follow-up posts on the
original poster's query would have been nothing but cross stitch. I've
worked to change that, and I see by the responses that I have been
successful. I was pleased as punch that the responses didn't assume
anything, and most asked what the woman was, indeed, interested in.

There's a difference in wording. If Janet had said, "I learned cross
stitch . . . ." [or something similar], I would have stayed mum. Now,
you could come back with, "Geesh! Now you're policing wording!" and
you'd be wrong. The original poster asked about "embroidery",
specifying nothing in particular. None of us knows what she's
interested in. She might have seen some drawn thread, or Hardanger. Or
Rumanian point lace. Or red work. Or cross stitch. I don't have a clue.

I think it's always pertinent to remind people not to be "narrow" in
their thinking. I learned to appreciate Darla's grammar corrections,
your corrections, even Mirjam's sometimes informational corrections on
assumptions. I tried to be light-hearted about it. If I sounded like a
"mum", well . . . sometime's that's my nature. It's always good to be
reminded of one's less than kind nature, and I'll work on it.

Dianne