A Complete List of Modern Embroidery Essentials

How many times have you gone to your local craft store, made your way to the needlepoint section, and just stared at the shelves overwhelmed with all the options in front of you. There are hoops of all sizes, shapes, and materials. Thread made up of different fibers with different textures and strands, scissors, needles, patterns, the merchandise goes on and on and on. But now you don't have to break into a cold sweat of overwhelm every time you think that you might want to try your hand at embroidery.

To accompany our Pattern Shop that is home to printable PDF designs of all kinds for you to explore your growing love of embroidery, we have created a shopping list of everything that you will need in order to complete your next stitching project, as well as some extras that enhance the project or make it a little bit easier. Most of the materials and supplies can be found at your local craft store, but to make it even easier we have linked to the products on Amazon so that you can shop from home and have everything delivered to your door! If you're anything like us this option will save you lots of money because there's no way to get out of the craft store without picking up 4-28 things that you just don't need. 

THE LIST

- Embroidery Hoop, if you are using one of our PDF embroidery pattern designs then the guide included will give the size that the pattern will print. So if you are using one of our patterns, check the guide before purchasing your hoop size. The sizes listed below are the three sizes that our patterns are available in, but if you have a different sizes that you would want to use they are available! 

Darice Wood Embroidery Hoops, 6-Inch

Darice 39103 1-Piece Wood Embroidery Hoops, 5-Inch

Darice Wood Embroidery Hoop 5"x 9" Oval

- Embroidery floss, the link that we have provided is for a variety of embroidery floss colors. If you don't want to buy more than the exact colors that you are planning to use then you can search directly for the colors you would like to use. When we purchase floss we buy the 6-strand floss, and unless otherwise noted in our PDF embroidery patterns all the stitches are used only using 3 of those 6 strands.

50 Skeins Premium Embroidery Floss

- Embroidery needle, if you aren't experienced with threading a needle you can start with a size 22 Chenille needle which has a larger eye. 

Chenille Hand Needles-Size 22 6/Pkg

- Thread clippers, normal sewing scissors can work, but it is easier to get a precise cut on your thread and clip away those flyaway threads with embroidery thread clippers. 

DMC 61253 Peacock Embroidery Scissor, 3 ¾ inches

- Cotton fabric, like the thread, you can get creative with this as well. We recommend using white or another light color because it will be hard to trace the pattern with a dark fabric. Cotton is best to use because of its workability and because of how easy it is to find. 

White 60" Wide Premium Cotton Blend Broadcloth Fabric

- Tracing pen, there are some really great tracing pens available with disappearing in. or you can use a pen or pencil and use care to make sure you don't make any mistakes while tracing. 

Dritz Disappearing Ink Marking Pen, Purple

- Hot glue, this will be used at the end to finish off your embroidery piece. You can use any kind of glue, but we prefer hot glue because it is quick drying. 

Mini Glue Gun with 25pcs Glue Sticks

- Fabric scissors, these will be used at the end of your project to cut off any excess fabric.  

Singer 8-1/2-Inch Fabric Scissors with Comfort Grip

- Stain, this is completely optional, but we use stain on all of our wooden embroidery hoops to give them a more finished look. You can also use paint if you want to give it a pop of color!

Wood Stain Dark Walnut

We hope you can find this list helpful in getting you started on your next embroidery project! If you are still in need of a pattern you can head over to our Pattern Shop and choose from plenty of different designs of all kinds! We are always adding new ones, so sign up for our mailing list at the bottom of this page to stay up to date with new releases. When you purchase a pattern it comes with a downloadable guide for completing your project. Everything from tracing your design, stitching, and assembly is covered so you will be able to complete the project with confidence! If this list has been helpful, share it on Pinterest! And if there is another embroidery essential that you can't live without let us know in the comments below!