Okay. Yes, you can find tutorials online for free on like YouTube. But, if you want solid hands on book examples, I swear by the Stitch Bible.
It has all kinds of stitches with both picture diagrams *and* text explanations. It also shows you what it should look like when you are done with said stitch.
But, if you either don't want or can't to spend the $20, there are several good channels on YouTube that go step by step on stitches.
My best advice is get cheap fabric (muslin is typically like $3-$4 a yard and is 100% cotton) and colors you love. You want 8 shades of purple? Go get 8 shades of purple. And play with it. Check out some neat stitches and make your attempt. It will be rough at first but if you find stitches you want to try, it will be more fun and give you more practice with it. (French Knots, satin, long-short, turkey, and cross stitches are all good starting points if you wanna work on basics.)
Do not stress about how neat it is at first. Learning proper tension control will save a project, but you don't learn it instantly. Also, the backs of projects that you see that are so pretty? Fuck 'em. Working a Danish method (which is what that is called, and we just don't use the term because no one knows it [yes I am old.]) takes some time to do and make that pretty. I promise you every stitcher out there has first projects that look hideous when you turn them over. That's not the side you are going to look at. It's fine if it's ugly.
Hoops are good for tension on the fabric but hell on your hands. You don't have to use them. A lot of seasoned stitchers don't.
You will get suggested cross stitch constantly as a starting point. Yes, it's a good place to start. It's fun. Kits are pretty much everywhere. It's a bunch of x on a piece of fabric with obvious grids. And you're going to see fast progress. Do not think this is the best option or that it's the only one.
On that note, not all stitches are created equal. Some stitches are great for open spaces on your project. But don't try and cover a 4" space with straight satin stitches. They aren't going to lay right even if you can get proper tension. (In this example, I'd go long-short if you really have to do a "smooth" appearance. My favorite would be a florentine though.)
Mind your needles. Size matters and so does the point. Dull needles are the fastest way to fuck up a stitch.
Most of the time, it's a slipknot. Put the needle in the loop and very gently tug. Only pull out the needle when the loop slides all the way down to it. You will eventually not need this trick, but I wish someone told me about it when I started.
Always use more fabric than you think you'll need. You want a 6" round project? Cut 9" of fabric. Framing takes up more space than a lot of people realize. Yes you might have more to remove at the end of it, but it's better to have that scrap (I use mine as stuffing a lot of the time) than to not have enough fabric.
Color lots are important. Buy more hand dyed thread than you think you need just to be sure.
And most importantly: stretch your hands and fingers regularly. I do mine two times a day when I don't stitch and roughly once every two hours of stitching on days I do stitch. Breaks are a necessity. You will be so sore when you first start out, primarily across your shoulders and wrists. As someone who does embroidery 3-5 days a week for 2-6 hours per day, trust me on this.
