Back in 2024, I bought embroidery and cross-stitch kits from Michaels. I tried cross-stitch back in 2024 and epically failed. I then proceeded to never pick up the embroidery kit. I hid it in a drawer in my bedroom. With that, I promptly forgot I had an embroidery kit.

During one of my 2025 finals, a classmate of mine had made her final after learning to weave and embroider. She said it was an easy and soothing process. That’s when I remembered I had the embroidery kit. Once I made the journey home, I opened that drawer and started my first embroidery kit. It was the Loops and Threads Butterfly Embroidery Kit.

My first attempt was going well until my floss (the thread) got tangled and knotted in weird places, making the kit look weird. But by then, I was hooked. I bought the same kit again and tried not to give up.

This is the second attempt at that original kit. I decided to start with the outline, as that was the easiest part the first time. The outline is a back stitch, which is one of the easiest stitches in embroidery. The blue outline you see is what I had to finish, and that’s where I added the colored flowers.

This is the finished product of my first embroidery kit. It used back stitches, lazy daisy stitches, and French knots. The French knots were what I messed up the first time, and I must say they look a lot better than that first attempt. It took a lot of practice and a lot of looking up advice on Reddit.

The day after I finished the first kit, I started my second kit, which is also a Loops and Threads kit. But this time it’s the Floral Heart design. I finished this kit in around 8 hours. If you can’t tell, I was basically addicted at this point.

I took the above photo when I took my first break. As you can probably tell, I was addicted to this like a drug addict is to coke. The best part about embroidery is that I can watch TV or listen to music while I do it. If you need good headphone recommendations, go look at my AirPod Pro 3 review ;). During this piece, I watched about 5 (or more, I didn’t keep track) episodes of Jeopardy.

This photo is the next progress update that I took. A lot had been added. You can also compare it to the sheet the kits come with.

Here is the finished piece! In this kit, I learned how to do straight stitches and satin stitches. It also combined my knowledge of back stitches, French knots, and lazy daisy stitches. When learning the stitches, I used this playlist by Cutesy Crafts. But if you are also learning, then also look at more than one source. Everyone has different tips and techniques. One technique might fit you better than another.

My love for embroidery came at the perfect time. With the new year starting, everyone wants to pick up new hobbies, and a trend has become the analog bag. With the analog bag trend came the rise in videos of people teaching embroidery to beginners. I found my TikTok FYP filled with embroidery videos. I felt the itch to get crafty again, since I had stopped when I came back to college. I had a few more kits from Loops and threads but they were a bit intimidating to me, so I bought this kit off Amazon.

For this kit, I decided to start taking progress photos of what I finish for the day. I’m unfortunately not able to embroider every day, but whenever I get the chance, I do.

With this kit, I started with the yellow color because those were the only flowers with that specific floss color. As well, it made me practice my satin stitches and a few techniques I had learned from viewing videos. I then wanted to do all the back stitches. I tried to do all the back stitches, but my floss got knotted, and I had to unknot it. So I stopped for the night. To accompany this kit, I was watching the new season of Bridgerton.

This is the second update, where I finished all the back stitches and added some of the green satin-stitched leaves. With this update, I finished the first half of Bridgerton season 4. I need the next season immediately if anyone was wondering.

This is my most recent update, where I learned how to do a stem stitch. I also added a few more satin-stitched leaves and straight stitches as well. For the TV show that I watched while working on this piece, I started Heated Rivalry. I might have needed to stop a couple of times to stare at the TV screen because I was not expecting that.

With embroidery, I do have a bit of a short-term goal. My sister is going to college in the fall, and I saw this TikTok of something a girl made. I want to make something similar, but for my sister and her college. Most of the stitches are a satin stitch, but there are also a few of either a back stitch, running stitch, or a straight stitch. I plan to have this done by August, and I’m using these kits to practice.

This is the start of my embroidery journey, so far. It isn’t much, but it keeps me busy. I’ve also messed up a couple of times, but it’s part of the process and learning to accept my mistakes. Look out for a new post soon!