One request that’s been coming up on the website and via e-mail lately is whether or not I can provide a pattern for working a sampler of surface embroidery stitches, for practicing all the various embroidery stitches shown in the embroidery videos here on Needle ‘n Thread.

Good news! You don’t need to a pattern to work a sampler for surface embroidery stitches! Let me show you what I mean.

It’s important to understand, though, that I’m not “creating” anything specific here. There’s no finished whole as far as a picture goes, when all is said and done. At the end of the whole sampler process, you won’t see some beautiful needlepainted bird, or a lovely piece of goldwork, or anything like that. Instead, you’ll have a piece of fabric covered with a whole colorful bunch of all kinds of different stitches, worked pretty much according to whim.