Last year I joined in with One Year of Stitches over on Instagram. Each day I would add a different stitch to my embroidery hoop. This was a great way to try and make my stitches neater, try lots of different stitches and use up lots of leftover bits of thread. And I ended the year with a full and colourful hoop with over 215 different stitches, 365 in total.

To complete this project I used: Cotton, embroidery hoop, needle and various threads.

I found these really helpful for stitches:

Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials - excellent step-by-step photos.

Let's Make Beginners Embroidery Magazine - clear picture guide, stitch variations and reference pages.

Inspiration to keep going: Nerds and Needles over on instagram: go check out their beautiful and inspiring hoop!