Melissa Galbraith grew up in a creative home and began stitching at a young age. She turned her hobby into a small business and now teaches people how to embroider, creates kits and has written two books on creative stitching.
How did you get started developing embroidery designs? Always an artist, or was there a “moment”?
I wouldn’t say there’s been a specific time that I started to think of myself as an artist, but maybe that’s because art has always been part of my life thanks to my mom. Growing up, my mom showed my sisters and I how to do so many crafts. From quilting to bobbin lace, to papier mache and embroidery we tried it all and then some!
When I first tried embroidery, I was probably elementary school age. I can’t say I loved it the first time I tried it, in fact, I was much more into coloring. After graduating college and entering the corporate world, I found that much my work centered around a computer. I missed the tactile experience of making things by hand. With some trial and error, I found embroidery again and fell in love! To me, it’s the adult version of coloring but with a needle and thread.
Thanks to the crafting experiences with my mom, I never felt that I needed to buy a kit to get back into embroidery. Since picking it back up a second time, I’ve loved exploring new stitches, techniques, and bringing my ideas to life with thread.
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After stitching designs I loved and found fun, I realized I either needed to find a new hobby or turn my hobby into a small business. This led me to selling my work at local craft fairs and farmers markets. From there, I found that many people wanted to learn how to embroider. This led me to switching from selling my finished work to designing kits and patterns. And it turns out, I like being able to share and teach embroidery so much more than selling my own art!
When was the first time that you remember realizing that you are a creative person?
I’ve always felt creativity to be part of me. It ebbs and flows but is still always there. I think growing up in a home that allowed me to express myself and try new things was an important foundation for feeling that I can always try something.
One of my fondest childhood memories is from when I was maybe 5 or 6. I was rummaging in my mom’s fabric scrap bin to create a costume. I found purple and black animal print fleece, then dressed my sister and myself up as cave women! Later in high school, my mom helped me design and make my dresses for school dances.
Where do you find your inspiration for your designs?
I pull much of my inspiration from nature and travel. I have two Shar Pei dogs who love to go on walks. It’s surprising the little things I tend to notice while out on our neighborhood strolls.
We have a great view of Mt Rainier a few streets over from our house, which inspired a few mountain patterns and kits. I’ve seen so many interesting tree stumps, mushrooms, and flowers- all of which have also inspired various kits, patterns, and projects in my books. I love to snap reference pictures while out walking and visit them later when designing. My camera roll is full of embroidery, my dogs, plants, and landscapes.
Tell us more about your newest book, DIY Embroidered Shoes. What was your inspiration to write this book? What do you hope readers will gain from it?
DIY Embroidered Shoes is my second embroidery book and it’s all about embroidering on fabric shoes. This book is a great primer for getting started with shoe embroidery! I wanted to make it as detailed as possible and include lots of tips, tricks, and techniques. Inside it’s pages you’ll find recommended materials, 31 embroidery stitches with step-by-step photos, 15 shoe projects, a section on how to sew your own espadrilles, and 45 additional patterns in the back of the book for you to mix and match the designs.
After writing How to Embroider Texture and Pattern, I knew I wanted to write a second book. I originally proposed a clothing embroidery book to my editor and sent in some samples- one of which was a shoe project. During the proposal process, my editor and I went back and forth, looking at the craft book market and seeing how my idea to embroider apparel could stand out. We ended up niching the proposal down to shoes since it’s more unique and has a wide appeal.
While this wasn’t the second book I thought I’d write, I loved the process. During my workshops and events, so many fellow makers want to learn how to embroider their own clothing and shoes. I hope DIY Embroidered Shoes inspires them to give stitching a try to upcycle and love a pair of shoes again.
Can we expect to see more published works from you?
Yes! Last summer I dove headfirst into 3D embroidery. I’ve been dabbling with various aspects of stump work, Brazilian, and Indian embroidery for a while and wanted to make more sculptural embroidery. I drew a lot of inspiration from plants, micro-crochet, and beading for my third book, which will be out this fall. I don’t have all the details yet, but I can tell you this book features 3D poisonous, medicinal, and carnivorous plants that you can wear.
Do you plan your work out ahead of time, or do you just dive in with your materials and start playing?
I’m big on planning. I often start a project in a sketchbook. I prefer pencil and paper when planning out pattern ideas. I often draw multiple iterations of a design before ever picking up a needle and thread. During the drawing process, I leave myself notes for potential colors and stitches. I always think about what texture and pattern I’m trying to create within the piece.
Are you a “finisher”? How many UFOs do you think you have?
Also yes. I feel like this is very much my A-type personality showing through. I often work and re-work a project until I’m happy with it. There are sometimes I must set projects aside, but I usually come back to them later.
I love the mindfulness of embroidery and keeping my hands moving. I’m not one to work on a project just to have something to work on. Because of this, I don’t have many UFOs and those that I do have usually get worked into something else.
How do you manage your creative time? Do you schedule start and stop times? Or work only when inspired?
As an artist who also runs a small business, I find it helpful to set myself tasks and mini goals that lead up to a bigger project. This helps me keep on track and not get too burnt out. I live and die by my paper planner. I also have a running lists of ideas, blog posts, kits, etc. that I can pull from and sprinkle into my calendar for the week, along with all my other business work and teaching classes.
This year I’m trying to get better about not working all the time and am making an effort to block out time for moving my body, connecting with friends, and spending time with family.
Describe your creative space.
About 4 years ago, my husband and I bought a house. One of his priorities was making sure I had a creative space… also he wanted the living room back. (We used to work and live in a 600sq ft. apartment!) This thankfully means I have a large room in my house that is my studio.
My studio is ever changing. It currently has one wall painted with a desert mural while another is covered in embroidery projects from my books and kits. There are two floor-to-ceiling pegboards that store my embroidery hoops, an entire bookcase of embroidery thread, a slightly smaller bookcase of fabric, and I took the doors off the closet to store all my embroidery kits. The one wall that isn’t covered in all things embroidery has a large window. My desk faces the window, and I love working there, especially on a sunny day. My two Shar Pei pups Henley and Landen can often be found lounging on the floor while I work.
What is your favorite storage tip for your creative supplies?
Do what works for you! I find that staying organized and putting things back in their place is extremely helpful for me. I’m also a very visual person, so being able to see everything helps me know what I have immediately- not that I don’t also have a ton of spreadsheets to track everything too. This means open shelving, clear containers, and peg boards, to store things in a way that I can see them.
Do you use a sketchbook, journal, or technology to plan or keep track of ideas? How does that help your work develop?
I do a bit of both. I love using the Notes app on my phone to keep track of ideas. I have different notes for kit types, blog posts, newsletters, etc. I also have a Photos folder of reference photos that I’ve taken on trips, walks, at the garden center, and more.
When it comes to the designing patterns and building out an idea, I prefer an erasable pen and paper. My favorite notebooks are the ones with dot grids. I usually start an idea with a few fingernail sketches, before turning one of those ideas or various elements into a larger sketch.
How often do you start a new project? Do you work actively on more than one project at a time?
I almost always have a project or two in the works. I’m not great at keeping my hands still. While I prefer to work on one design from start to finish, that doesn’t always work out. Sometimes I’m not loving a design or am feeling stuck with it, so I’ll put it down and work on another. Other times, I’ll have deadlines for projects or am traveling and can’t take that specific project with me, so another project will take precedence.
Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?
I love the stitching part of designing embroidery kits and patterns the best. It’s exciting to see a design come to life and fill out with colors and textures. While I wouldn’t say there are any aspects of my process that are challenging, I do I enjoy some parts more than others.
The computer work portion of designing is a necessity for digitizing a pattern, writing kit instructions, and even creating the kit packaging. Thankfully I’ve built up a few templates and photo libraries over the years that make that process easier.
When you travel, do you create while on planes and in waiting areas? What is in your creative travel kit?
I don’t leave home without an embroidery project! I like to keep my project in a project bag for easy travel and storage.
Mine is a crazy quilted zipper pouch I made from fabric scraps. Inside it, you’ll always find a needle book with tons of needles and a needle minder, a pair of small scissors (currently the KAI curved scissors), a binder ring with my current thread colors, a tin of thread gloss, a heat erasable pen, some needle grippers, and my current project.
Is there an overarching theme that connects all your work?
I pull much of my inspiration from nature and my work features mostly plants and landscapes. I like using nature as a subject because it’s forgiving and ever changing. If a leaf is stitched a little wonky- a bug took a bite out of it. If the grassy field is less filled in some areas- it was thatched. If a mountain isn’t the same as my reference photo of Mt Rainier- it’s still recognizable and will resonate.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
You don’t know unless you try.
I know this sounds somewhat cliché, but it’s so true. Often, I think oh it’d be cool to do this or that, but I’m not sure where to start or I don’t have connections. It’s easy to get into my head and talk myself out of it.
I didn’t know the first place to start when I wanted to publish a book, but I figured I’d try. I did a lot of research and sent quite a few emails before Fox Chapel Publishing said yes. Same with this interview. I’ve been a fan of the Create Whimsy site and wanted to be an interviewee one day. Thankfully Lynn kindly replied to my email and was interested in highlighting my work. But again, I wouldn’t have known unless I put myself out there to see.
How did you get into teaching embroidery classes?
Teaching has been an extension of sharing my love of embroidery. I found that I love helping others fall in love with the needle arts. My favorite is the ah-ha moment when something clicks in class and their eyes light up.
I hadn’t thought of myself as a teacher, but after starting to create embroidery kits, many shoppers expressed an interest taking hands-on classes. Towards the end of 2019, I decided to pivot my small business to be more focused on teaching. I had a lot of big plans for 2020 and even lined up some guest teaching opportunities only to have everything shut down. This had me pivoting again.
While I wasn’t initially keen on it, a few friends encouraged me to try virtual workshops. Thankfully, we were all sorting out the virtual space at that time and everyone was very forgiving in the learning curve of teaching classes and more interested in connecting and learning. Throughout the pandemic I taught more than 200 virtual workshops!
As the world started to open back up, people still wanted to embroider. I was able to transition to in-person classes hosted at various craft spaces. Now I teach 2-5 hands-on workshops a week and have expanded my embroidery class offerings to include beginner, intermediate, and advanced techniques as well as specialized classes like clothing embroidery.
While I mostly teach in-person now, I offer the occasional virtual class and have recorded a class with Domestika on how to embroider a stained glass landscape.
Where can people see your work and learn about your upcoming classes?
You can find more information and all things embroidery at mcreativej.com
I teach a wide variety of hands-on workshops that range in skill level. All classes are listed on my website under the Events tab.
Additionally, I also have a Blog tab that covers all thing embroidery. You’ll find DIY projects, stitch videos, tips and tricks, the supply recommendations, book reviews, and more.
Do you have hobbies outside of embroidery?
I will admit, I am a bit of a workaholic. Outside of embroidering, I love to bake, mostly sweets like cookies.
I also co-host an adult summer craft camp with my friend Sara Barnes. I often want to try many other crafts but am not sure where to start. Camp Craftaway is a weekend of all things crafting. It’s a great way to dabble in new crafts. Classes are taught by artists interested in sharing their craft in two hour classes. It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year, because it reminds me of childhood summers at Girl Scout camp, but better.
Interview posted January 2025
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