Starting Your Embroidery Journal!

Let's get started with our Embroidery Journals!

Whether you watched me build my 2024 embroidery journal over the year on Instagram at @iamemilyjune, or watched someone else stitch one, and are eager to start your hand-stitched journal hoops now, this is a great resource to get you started. This guide assists these tiny embroidery patterns, now available as a massive bundle!

Find them here! 
https://shopemilyjune.com/collections/embroidery-journal

What is an Embroidery Journal?

It is a fun and unique way to record your year through embroidery. You can either stitch a small icon every day for 365 days, or a few times a week, or month! You can keep the stitches super simple, or more detailed. It's totally up you. It is a great way to learn embroidery as a total beginner.

It's also an opportunity to practice mindfulness, gratitude, and creativity, celebrating the beauty of the every day as well as your big highlights, without a huge time commitment. And it's so rewarding to see your hoop at the end of the year. 

All of those small snapshots make one big, beautiful piece of artwork: your life.

What Do You Need?
You will need:

1. A 10-12 inch embroidery hoop
2. Embroidery Needles - I recommend multiple sizes so you can figure out which is the most comfortable for you!
3. Cotton, cotton twill, or linen fabric
4. Heat erasable or water soluble pen (I prefer heat erasable)
5. Ruler (for setting up the hoop)
6. Scissors - I recommend small ones as they are more comfortable!
7. Embroidery floss! I recommend the DMC brand

You can find the hoop, fabric, needles, and more on this list: 
https://amzn.to/416nrfq

Month and Number Fonts

Here are some fun free fonts you can use for your month names and numbers, or feature words. Input them into your preferred word doc, and trace onto the fabric (or use your own handwriting!) 

https://unblast.com/fonts/

How to Set Up Your Embroidery Journal

1. Freeform

The cover art of my book, featured here, depicts a free-form Embroidery Journal. You put your year ("2025", etc) in the center and fill it with words, ideas, and little pictures  without any structure. This method can be nice if you have months or weeks where you have more you wish to record since you aren't bound to uniform areas.

2. Classic Pinwheel

This is definitely the most popular method of Embroidery Journaling. You don't have to do a rainbow motif like I did, but it can be fun! This layout features a 12-section pie chart. You label each "pie piece" with the month, and place the year or word of choice in the center. 

Here is a link to a free pie chart. You can trace in the center of your hoop and use your rule to extend the lines to the edge of the hoop.

https://etc.usf.edu/clipart/74300/74318/74318_pie_1-12.htm

3. Calendar 

Example (Credit: Stitch Doodles)

For this design, you will put your year, or word/phrase, at the top of your hoop and create a calendar of 12 squares to fill with your monthly embroidered journaling. Again, make sure to use a ruler and plan out the size in advance before tracing.

4. Get Creative

Here are some examples of journalers who made up their own creative designs for the year. Sky is the limit!

Like this road map created by Emma Norman

This pinwheel by Stir Crazy Crafter

Or this unique spin on the pie chart by Sarah Ahiers.

Hope your year is as creative, mindful and fun as embroidery is!

Emily June