Practice is VERY important! You will not learn the stitches if you don't practice them at home I strongly recommend purchasing an embroidery book for use at home; see the book list for my favorites
Most of the time I use eleven basic embroidery stitches that I can combine in a variety of ways (select stitch name to see an enlarged image)
back stitch stem stitch lazy daisy stitch or single chain stitch chain stitch fly stitch blanket stitch feather stitch herringbone stitch cretan stitch chevron stitch french knot	select image to enlarge
There is a wide variety of threads available so experiment! A few of the types available are: (select thread types to see a picture)
Cotton embroidery thread Crochet cotton Rayon Silk DMC Flower thread Silk ribbon Wool Metallic handsewing thread Metallic sewing machine thread	image of all threads
You want to balance thread color against fabric color shiny/flashy against matte lightweight thread against thick, heavy thread You can go as wild as you want and use a lot of thread weights, colors, and stitches, or be more circumspect and use one color or color range and one or two stitches You can embroider just the seams, or you can also add embroidered figures and letters to the scraps
Introduction * Classes * Book List and Useful Websites * Class Instructor Getting Started * Embellishments * Finishing Return Home