I've been doing hand embroidery and crewel since I was 5, learned from my grandmother.
You should probably do some practice stitches on a piece of fabric similar to what you will be embroidering. I use 2 strands of floss usually. Here's a site with some easy to follow stitches-I don't have alot of bookmarked sites since I know the stitches by heart long before the internet came into my life lol
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/herita.../stitches.html
The stem stitch makes the best signatures, IMHO.
Redwork is neat-my grandma has some penny square quilts that I covet. Use designs that don't have a ton of detail so it won't get lost being done all in one color. The outline stitch can be used for all of it. Oh and if you are so inclined a hoop makes things easier while you are still new to the stitches-I don't use one anymore but my grandmother does-maybe it's personal preference?
Hmm does this help? Ask me anything.
