Embroidery is a type of arts and crafts activity that is extremely forgiving to beginners. If you are new to embroidery and looking to try out some designs, you will be delighted to find that there are a lot of options available to you that can likely be accomplished at your skill level.
Another fantastic aspect to embroidery is the fact that it is highly versatile. While many of the patterns that we point to on this list were designed with an embroidery hoop in mind, they can also be applied to dish cloths, clothing, canvas shoes, and more.
15 Easy Embroidery Patterns
1. Embroidery Heart
A heart is a great place for embroidery beginners to start. Not only is it a relatively easy shape to draw, but it also leaves a lot of room to incorporate your own design, as the possibilities are just about endless in terms of the heart’s size, color, and style. Also, hearts send off positive vibes that are sure to be infectious!
We love this selection from Wandering Threads Embroidery that offers up a few different approaches you could take to embroidering a heart, depending on your individual tastes and capabilities. Although all of their selections use red and pink thread, you could certainly switch it up and make hearts that are unconventional colors as well, such as black or grey.
2. Embroidery Inspirational Quote
The idea of embroidering text, as opposed to an image, may seem daunting, but so long as you are following a detailed pattern it should be just as easy to pull off a beautiful cursive script as it is a geometric shape.
Related: 20 Crochet Patterns for Beginners
Quotes are a personal thing, so we didn’t go ahead and single one quote out for this article. Instead, here are some step-by-step instructions from Craftsy that show you how to go about recreating your favorite inspirational saying in embroidery form, so that you can hang it up and get inspired every day.
3. Embroidery Bee
No, when we say “embroidery bee”, we don’t mean a competition similar to a spelling bee where you will all have to stand up and embroider! We mean literally embroidering a bee, one of nature’s most underrated beautiful creatures.
Not only are bees amazing because of the way they organize their colonies and create honey, but they are also undeniably beautiful with a unique black and yellow marking that could not be confused for any other animal. We love the way that this pattern from Bee’s Knees Industries gives the impression of a bee in motion, going about its busy day.
4. Embroidery Fruit
Oftentimes, the embroidery patterns that we find online are designed for use in a bedroom or living room. But what if we are looking to create some embroidery art for other rooms in our house, such as the kitchen or dining room?
If you are looking for unconventional types of embroidery art, you may want to consider embroidering a fruit or even a vegetable. Not only are fruits an uncommon thing to embroider, they are also naturally colorful which means that they make a very fun project. We love this fruit pattern and kit that is available on Etsy.
5. Embroidery Ladybug
We mentioned before how the bumblebee has a distinctive look within nature, but how about another bug that is just as memorable? Of course, we’re talking about the adorable red ladybugs that so commonly pay us a visit in the summertime.
Embroiderers across the internet seem to agree that ladybugs make for a fun embroidery project, so there is no shortage of great patterns online. We especially love this classic one from Ann the Gran.
6. Embroidery Cat
While we are on the topic of animals, we might as well pay homage to some of the most popular pets out there. After all, it would make sense that they would make a great embroidery project, considering that they are also so cute in real life form!
There are many cat embroidery patterns to choose from online, so it was hard to narrow down just one to direct your interest to. We ended up narrow it down to this great pattern from Sublime Stitching, called the “Mysterious Guest Black Cat”.
7. Embroidery Dog
If you’re not really a cat person, then maybe a dog embroidery would better suit your tastes. Or, perhaps you happen to have a liking for both cats and dogs. In this case, you’re lucky, as there is no shortage of ideas for you to embroider!
Much like the cat patterns, it was hard to narrow it down to just one pattern idea. However, when we saw this free sausage dog pattern we knew that it just had to make it onto the list.
8. Embroidery Hot Air Balloon
Even if you have never been up in a hot air balloon yourself, there is no denying that hot air balloons certainly make a pretty scene in the sky. That must be why hot air balloons have lent themselves to artist inspiration for years.
This adorable free pattern from Wool Warehouse features multiple hot air balloons in a variety of colours, as well as a patch of fluffy white clouds.
9. Embroidery Arrows
Arrows are an example of an interesting and unique design element. Not quite geometric, not quite detailed, they occupy a space that will appeal to those who are drawn to both minimalist and busy designs.
Even if arrows aren’t your thing, this quirky design from Craft Foxes is sure to convince you that they can be an adorable cross-stitching project that also happens to be great for beginners.
10. Embroidery Flowers
There is no way that we could have made it through this entire list without offering at least one example of a floral embroidery pattern. There’s a reason, after all, that humans have drawn inspiration from the flowers of nature for thousands upon thousands of years. They are simply beautiful.
This pattern from Flamingo Toes is designed to host a section of text next to a handful of flowers, but you can amend it to simply feature flowers without any text. We love its versatility.
11. Embroidery Moon and Stars
Just as flowers are one of the most inspiring aspects of nature, there is no denying that the moon and the stars deserve a spot on that list as well. We love the way that crafts that incorporate stars and moons not only look great, but also give a whimsical or even magical effect.
This amazing PDF pattern from Etsy shop TheWildflowerColl .takes a modern approach to the moons and stars motif by featuring two hands, with one hand sprinkly moons and stars into another hand. Cool!
12. Embroidery Rainbow
One of the most enjoyable parts of performing an embroidery craft is being able to flip flop in between a series of interesting colors and hues. Instead of working on a project that limits you to one or two colors, why not focus your energy on a project that incorporates all colors of the rainbow? Such as, say, a rainbow?
This pattern from Muse of the Morning offers up an adorable rainbow pattern that uses thin lines and raindrops! While this pattern does give you the option to add in text, you can choose to omit a quote if you so choose.
13. Embroidery Mountain
No, we don’t mean that you will have a mountain of embroidery tasks, though for some that would be a dream. We mean actually embroidering a literal mountain!
Mountains have become more prominent as a design inspiration in recent years, and it’s no mystery why. Not only are mountains majestic, but their rigged corners makes them very fun to draw or embroider. Embroidery mountains can range in skill from beginner to advanced, but for this list we have chosen a pattern that is accessible even to beginners. It’s a beautiful selection from Instructables.com.
14. Embroidery Plants
It seems like keeping plants in your house or apartment has now become the norm, but what are we to do if we do not possess anything that closely resembles a green thumb? Although embroidered plants may not give the exact ambiance of a real houseplant, we would argue that their effect is pretty darn close!
Take this pattern from Jessica Long Embroidery, for instance. Not only is this fun to make, but it also brings a welcome splash of color into your living space.
15. Embroidery Whale
We round up our selection of embroidery pattern suggestions by sharing a pattern of the world’s largest mammal. Don’t worry — this embroidery project from Paraffle does not have to be sized true to life.