The oldest surviving embroideries are Scythian, dating back to between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE. However, other civilizations also have long traditions of the craft. Roughly from 330 CE until the 15th century, for example, Byzantium produced embroideries lavishly ornamented with gold. 

And while ancient Chinese embroideries have been excavated dating from the T'ang dynasty (618–907 CE), the most famous examples from that region are the imperial silk robes of the Ch'ing dynasty (1644–1911/12).

In India embroidery was also an ancient craft, but it is from the Mughal period (from 1556) that numerous pieces have survived, many finding their way to Europe from the 17th to the 18th century through the East India trade.

From the 16th century, Turkey produced elaborate embroideries in gold and colored silks with an impressive repertoire of stylized forms such as pomegranates, the tulip motif eventually predominating.

The Greek islands in the 18th and 19th centuries produced many geometric embroidery patterns, which differed from island to island, with those of the Ionian islands and Scyros showing Turkish influence.

The 10th-century stole of St. Cuthbert, embroidered in gold thread and preserved in Durham Cathedral, is the earliest surviving work of English embroidery.

The Crusades transmitted motifs of Saracenic art (such as pairs of confronting stylized animals), further reinforcing Byzantine influence in Europe and initiating heraldic embroidery.

In 1561 Elizabeth I granted a charter of incorporation to the Broderer's Company. It was a further step in the development of secular embroidery, already apparent in Henry VIII's reign.

Sixteenth-century English and French embroidery, in fact, were closely related, both tending to adapt engraved designs for their needlework patterns.

At the time, embroidery was becoming an amateur craft rather than a profession, a change that was even more visible in the 17th century.

The fashion for crewel work, or worsted (wool) embroidery, dates largely from the 17th century, as does needlepoint, or canvas work. Samplers, used to record stitches and designs, became mainly decorative after the appearance of pattern books.

Embroidery in 17th- and 18th-century North America also reflected European skills and conventions, however, the designs were often simpler and the stitches were often modified to save thread; samplers, embroidered pictures, and mourning pictures were the most popular.

In the early 19th century almost all other forms of embroidery in England and North America were superseded by a type of needlepoint known as Berlin woolwork.

Coming back to the subreddit, its moderators say that you don't need much to get started. The most basic supplies for hand embroidery are a hoop, a needle, fabric, and some 6-stranded embroidery floss. That's really it. Of course, you do need scissors to snip your thread and a way to transfer the design to your fabric but these are the things needed to actually stitch and likely the only items you don't already have in your home.

A very good way to start from the absolute beginning is to order an embroidery kit. Most will have thread, a needle, a hoop, and a design already worked onto the fabric provided. "No analysis paralysis as you stare at the 60+ shades of red, wondering which one might be the best," the mods said. "Kits also have the benefit of explaining what stitches you should be using in what section ... Once you complete your kit you then have a hoop and needle to use for other projects as well."

If you do decide to give embroidery a go, the subreddit has pretty much all the information a newbie might need.