To start embroidering, you’ll need the following items:

• embroidery hoop – this is a ring consisting of two parts. You put the fabric in between the hoops – this helps keep it taut, making the embroidering easier. These come in plastic and wood – I prefer plastic for doing the embroidering and wood for displaying the embroideries.
• small, sharp scissors. You can find these under many names – though a google search for “embroidery scissors” will get you what you need. 😀
• your fabric of choice! Linen, quilting cotton, canvas and osnaburg are all great choices! It should not be too loosely woven or too tight.
• embroidery floss. This is cheap and comes in TONS of colors. I prefer DMC floss and use it exclusively.
• embroidery needles. These have bigger eyes than normal needles to accommodate the size of the floss.
• a water soluble marker or other marking tool. This way you can draw designs onto your fabric! It’s best it you use a water soluble pen so you can rinse the markings out with cold water at the end.
• whatever fabric you like! Muslin, quilting cotton, canvas and linen all work well. I typically embroidery on a linen blend.