7 Reasons You Haven't Started Your Kit Yet
If you've bought an embroidery or needlepoint kit and it's currently sitting untouched in a cupboard, on a shelf or in a project basket, you're in very good company. Over the years, we've spoken to countless customers who were excited to buy a kit, fully intended to start it straight away, and then somehow never quite got round to making the first stitch.
Often, we find out when we are at events in person. Someone will come up to me, excited but a bit sheepish. They’ll tell me they love what we do, in fact, they bought a kit last year, but (a bit like reporting to the headteacher) they are ashamed to say they haven’t started it yet.
It's easy to assume the fact you haven’t started means you're not creative enough, not patient enough or not capable enough. In reality, the reasons are usually much simpler than that.
For many people, the biggest obstacle is the fear of ruining something. You open the kit, look at the beautiful materials and immediately start imagining all the ways you might make a mistake. What if the stitches aren't neat enough? What if you misunderstand the instructions? What if the finished piece doesn't look like the photograph?
The problem with this line of thinking is that it assumes the outcome is entirely your responsibility. It isn't. You are not starting with a blank piece of fabric and a vague hope that everything will work out. You're following a kit that has been designed, tested and refined to guide you towards a successful result. We have sent out tens of thousands of kits trust us when we say we know what we are doing.
Your first stitches likely won’t look beautiful, but as you start filling in the design, as you start layering stitches, you will see it start coming together. So don’t worry about getting it wrong, you have to trust the process.
One of the wonderful things about stitching is that very little is irreversible. You can stitch a section and decide you don't like it. You can take stitches out. You can redo them. You can change your mind halfway through. You can stitch over the top of it. It’s not like painting or drawing, where once the marks are down, it’s pretty hard to lift them back off again. Very little can happen in sewing that you can’t change.
And whilst as a rule I really try to discourage unpicking (I think it means you are taking it too seriously or being too perfectionist), if what is holding you back from starting it is a fear of making mistakes, then remember nothing is permanent. The irony is that not starting is often the only decision you can't easily fix.
When you're making something, you see every detail. Your face is inches away from the fabric as you stitch. You notice every slightly uneven stitch, every tiny inconsistency, every little trailing thread, every gap in your satin stitch. The trouble is that nobody else, or even you yourself, will ever see the piece from that distance once it’s finished.
Once a piece is framed and hanging on a wall, it's viewed from across a room - maybe a metre away, maybe 5 metres away. The things that seemed enormous while you were making it often disappear completely.
Before you unpick something for the third time, try stepping back and looking at it from a sensible distance. I also often recommend just keeping stitching - if, after you have finished it all, you are still noticing that one wonky French knot, then unpick it. The chances are, I think you will have completely forgotten what it was you were unhappy with!
The longer you spend making something, the more aware you become of its imperfections. The important thing to bear in mind is that this doesn't disappear as your skills improve. Experienced stitchers don't stop seeing flaws - there will be things they wish they did in a different stitch, areas they wish were other colours, frames which they detest, designs that feel weak, stitching which seems messy. Experience will not make you less self-critical – it's just the aspects you criticise will change.
The difference is that with more experience, you learn which imperfections matter and which ones don't. Most people will never notice the things that keep you awake at night or make you stop working on a project. So let go of that search for perfection, because it's never going to happen.
A craft project should be enjoyable - we only sell kits because we want to encourage people to make, we don’t just want to fill your house with more objects. And whilst of course it's lovely to have a finished piece at the end, the real value is in the making. It's the time spent concentrating on something with your hands, learning a new skill, watching a design slowly appear where there was once a blank piece of fabric.
If you're so focused on creating the perfect result that you can't bring yourself to begin, you've accidentally turned a hobby into a performance. You are focusing on the outcome and forgetting you are doing this to enjoy the process. So stop taking it so seriously - treat it as a bit of fun and you will likely find it a lot more fun and get to a better result in the process!
We include instructions, diagrams and videos for a reason. We are here on Instagram, we are on emails, and we have studio days for a reason. We want to help you! For some people, reading an explanation is enough, or some people don’t even need that, they just look at the pictures. But for others, if you're feeling uncertain, please use the videos. They are there for a reason! The best way to learn is to see sewing happen - videos are better than any in-person class because you can pause them, rewind them, zoom in, and take things one step at a time.
And if you're still stuck after the video, send us an email. Helping people learn to stitch isn't an inconvenience - it's the reason we exist at all. The idea of you sitting there feeling uncomfortable and alone is the worst! We want to support you!
The Best Kits to Begin With
Not every unfinished kit is the result of fear, or lack of confidence, or not knowing where to start. Sometimes it’s just that life is busy: work could be overwhelming, you might have young children, ageing parents, too many commitments or simply too much going on in your head.
If you've given yourself every opportunity to begin and still don't want to, perhaps the reality is that now isn't the right moment, and that's perfectly fine. Don’t put more pressure on yourself to have to fit another thing into an already full and complicated life. Put the kit somewhere safe and come back to it when you have the time and mental space to enjoy it. Not right now doesn't mean not ever!
If you've recognised yourself in any of these reasons, I'd encourage you to be a little kinder to yourself. Embroidery is supposed to be enjoyable. It's supposed to be relaxing. It's supposed to be something you do because you want to, not because you feel under pressure to produce something perfect.
So make the first stitch, trust us and the process, and you may well surprise yourself with what you create!
