This past weekend I held my first Sip & Stitch embroidery workshop, teaching beginner hand embroidery to a handful of women looking to get into modern stitching as a way to de-stress and make art. The session was held in my home and was so successful (much to my admitted relief and joy) that I’ve already scheduled another session and have a lot of fun ideas in the works!

Because fiber art (especially embroidery) can be intimidating to a lot of people, I wanted to write a quick post to break down what to expect from a beginner session. I promise it’s not as difficult as it looks! And I know you will have a lot of fun doing it. Seriously – embroidery is addictive.

Here’s what you can expect from attending a Sip & Stitch session:

Basics

If you’re attending a introductory workshop I’m assuming you’ve never embroidered anything before – and that’s really exciting! You should be proud of yourself for trying something new and I’m really excited thinking about how much you’ll love embroidery once you try it. Because this is a beginner session we will cover things like basic embroidery supplies, how to use an embroidery hoop and trips and tricks for threading your needle.

Even if you’re not a beginner, I encourage you to attend the workshop to have fun with others who are interested in learning more about your beloved artform. Attending a workshop might also inspire you and give you new ideas as to what’s possible!

Stitches

Ahhhh stitches – the basics of hand embroidery! During these sessions we will cover 5-7 basic embroidery stitches that will help you complete your project and give you the confidence to keep stitching and explore new patterns.

To learn these stitches, we will spend the first hour together learning and practicing. Everyone will leave with their own stitch sampler to refer back to once they take their project home.

Coffee

No one comes to my home without being offered coffee! It’s my favorite beverage and perfect for a hyggelig session. Don’t know what hygge is? No worries, we’ll cover that too.

Fun

Whether you attend a session with friends or family, or are coming to enjoy the company of future-friends, I promise that your session will be a lot of fun. As you may imagine, learning embroidery tends to lend itself to laughter all around the table — it’s part of what makes beginner sessions so fun!

Unique artwork

Although I will be supplying you with a pattern, how you choose to complete your piece is completely up to you! I love seeing how everyone approaches patterns differently through the use of stitching and color. You will spend the second part of the session working on your pattern, picking out thread colors and sharing ideas with one another.