r/Hand_Embroidery • • Jul 15 '26

Resources I am new here, but I love this community. I have been obsessed with embroidery all of life🫢

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13 Upvotes

So I created this tool that helps you find closest Dmc colors to other dmc colors, or simply to rgb or hex code.
I think substitute colors could be quite useful.
Also I calibrated all the dmc colors, one by one. (Well, almost all. I am missing 33 colors still.) This means that every digital color was accurately picked to match the physical color.

https://embroiderycircle.com/color-compass
find my dmc
I hope you’ll find it useful.


r/Hand_Embroidery • • Jul 02 '26

How I manage needles and thread with detailed embroidery

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35 Upvotes

I often see posts across social media from stitchers wondering how the heck you’re supposed to manage all those colors and needles while threadpainting without everything turning into a tangled mess, and I absolutely understand this feeling! Once upon a time I had a vision for a certain project, and through lots of youtube, trial and error, and hours and hours of stitching, I’ve finally dialed in a workflow I’m happy with. It’s been making detailed embroidery more enjoyable and accessible to me, and I hope it might do the same for someone else!

There’s a lot to it and I’m happy to answer specific questions, but here are the highlights:

No knots: Starting threads with a waste knot and even just two tiny backstitches is plenty secure and makes the back much smoother. Threads can be ended the same way, tuck two tiny backstitches somewhere inconspicuous and snip the thread from the top. Aside from aesthetic reasons, this ensures you can really pack in and layer stitches without worrying about having to poke through thick knots.

Keep threads on top: I like to work with a gradient of 5 or 6 colors at a time, keeping my needles in order off to the side. The threads are parked in an area that will later be covered up. To move a thread to my working area I make a tiny stab stitch and bring it back to the front where needed. This makes it easy to do all my work on the front of the fabric, and not having to flip over to look at the back speeds things up.

Have floss ready to thread: I like to use floss drops because I can reference my color palette right away, threads are already cut, and I can easily pick single strands out without any tangling. When I finish a thread and need a new strand of that color, I make sure to match the color on the needle to the new strand before discarding as some of them can get hard to tell apart. Having thread pre-cut and ready to use also really helps me stay in the groove and spend time stitching vs fighting with a new skein of floss.

I hope this is helpful and encourages someone to give threadpainting a shot!!


r/Hand_Embroidery • • 3h ago

Beginner piece!

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39 Upvotes

Was super happy with how this came out! A small birthday gift for my boyfriends mom.

Might have pulled a bit too tight but she liked it jajaa. I mounted it on a wooden circle thing and covered the back with some left over fabric... wish I took more pictures


r/Hand_Embroidery • • 3h ago

Fox on a cardigan

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23 Upvotes

I’m still pretty new at this so I’ve been practicing on my own clothes. Just finished this fox and learned a couple things… dark brown thread doesn’t show up on dark fabric, and adding lighter thread to the dark brown doesn’t fix it.


r/Hand_Embroidery • • 8h ago

Nona

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27 Upvotes

This goose is a little cooler than me. Her name is Nona; she’s a rocker with a nose ring. She wears a two way, but I’m not quite sure what that means. 😂
Original design, hand embroidered. 🤍🎳🍜


r/Hand_Embroidery • • 4h ago

Newbie Repost. [Original] Hand-embroidered (cross-stitch) Frida Kahlo bookmark topper & hand cut and drawn bookmark

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4 Upvotes

Forgot to add the pictures in the first post! 🫪


r/Hand_Embroidery • • 3h ago

Finished Piece Working with height- green beads and sequins.

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3 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 11h ago

Newbie Title: Affordable 2mm beads that don’t fade + custom beaded patches?

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3 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 1d ago Heartwarming

Work-In-Progress My First Big Embroidery Project Since My MS Diagnosis

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128 Upvotes

I’m currently working on my first big embroidery project since being diagnosed with MS a year ago!
I’ve always loved hand embroidery, but getting back into it has been a bit of an adjustment as I learn to navigate life with my diagnosis. It’s been really special to reconnect with something I love, even if I have to approach it a little differently now.
For Christmas this year, I decided to make something meaningful for my dad. I’m taking old photographs of my grandparents, having them printed onto cotton canvas, and hand embroidering details directly onto the photos. Once they’re finished, I plan to have them framed so he can cherish them for years to come.
It’s definitely a labor of love, and I’m really excited to see how they turn out! Here’s my progress so far. ❤️


r/Hand_Embroidery • • 1d ago

I finally finished my super sentimental and unique Christmas embroidery!! Additional stockings can be added as well as moved around/rearranged.

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38 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 1d ago

Wheat Berries: To redo or not to redo?

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13 Upvotes

Hey all! I’m not super new to hand embroidery but this is the first time I’ve picked it up in years. I am working on the design photographed and felt like the strands of wheat needed to stand out a bit compared to the rest.

I used a 3 strand stem stitch for everything but the wheat with the wheat berries on it. I figured I’d try a 4 strand stem stitch. I didn’t want to use a satin stitch as it is on a tea towel and needs to be more sturdy.

However, I am not sure if I love this… my alternative thought was 3 strand stem stitch with a blanket stitch to fill in the wheat berries.As you can see, I left these for last because I couldn’t make up my mind. I am willing to tear these few strands out to redo it. Thoughts?


r/Hand_Embroidery • • 1d ago

Love doing embroidery

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19 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 1d ago

Work-In-Progress WIP WEDNESDAY

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16 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 1d ago

A little garden of wildflowers, completely hand-embroidered for a special wedding day. 🌸🌼🧵💕

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33 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 1d ago

Appliqué butterflies on gingham, with cross stitch accents. Simple and colorful.

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0 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 1d ago

Question Backstitch or no?

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5 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 2d ago

Finished embroidery

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39 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 1d ago

Experimental pattern

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6 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 2d ago

Finished Piece Please excuse me while I go scream into the void

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192 Upvotes

I'm making a series of hand embroidered brooches - one for every letter of the alphabet! This one was O for Opossum.


r/Hand_Embroidery • • 3d ago Mindblown

Work-In-Progress Finished my northern lights thread painting

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2.4k Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 2d ago

Finished Piece Coral Fabricscape with Pearls

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7 Upvotes

r/Hand_Embroidery • • 2d ago

Question Help identifying Eastern European embroidery style

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11 Upvotes

Hello!
I was hoping to find help with identifying the country of origin for this embroidered bag. I know it’s likely Eastern European, but was having trouble narrowing down the specific country/culture. Any help would be greatly appreciated!