Glossary of Embroidery Stitches

BLANKET STITCH

Secure the thread to the back of the fabric & bring it through at A. Take the needle through to the back at B and come through to the front again at C, ensuring the thread is under the tip of the needle. Pull the thread through gently being careful no to distort the fabric. Take the needle through to the back of the fabric at D and coming back through to the front again at E, making sure that the thread is under the tip of the needle. Continue in the same manner. To finish, take the needle through to the back by taking the thread over the last stitch & securing the thread at the back.

BLANKET STITCH - DETACHED

To work an area in detached blanket stitch, begin by stitching two horizontal bars of thread across the tip or start of the section to be filled (Fig.1). Then work a line of blanket stitch from right to left (see instructions above) keeping the stitches close together. Once you have reached the edge of the outlined area, complete the final stitch, and take your needle through to the back of the fabric. Start your next row by bringing your needle to the front of the fabric and then passing the needle through the top of the last stitch and begin working a line of blanket stitch from left to right, bringing your needle through the top of the stitch below each time (Fig.2). At the end of the row, take your needle through to the underside of your work (this will secure it to the fabric). Repeat the above process until the area is filled, with only the very edges being attached to your fabric.

CHAIN STITCH

After securing the thread on the back of the fabric, bring the needle through to the front A. Placing the needle into the fabric at as close to A again as possible but not in the same hole, bring it out at B, loop the thread under the tip & pull the needle through until the loop lies snugly against the emerging thread - be careful not to pull it too tightly. For the next stitch, bring the needle through close to B, bringing it out at C, looping the thread under the tip and pulling the needle & thread through as before. Repeat this process until the area is complete, and finish by taking the needle to the back of the fabric in a short stitch over the top of the last loop.

CHAIN STITCH - FILLING

Outline the shape with chain stitch, the work the next row inside the outline so that the stitches touch. Continue stitching rows of chain stitch inside the outline until the shape is filled.

CHAIN STITCH - WHIPPED

Work a base line of chain stitch as detailed above. Secure a new length of thread to the back of the fabric and bring it through to the front halfway along the side of the first chain stitch. Push the needle from right to left under the second stitch, being careful not to catch the fabric on the way through. Pull the thread through until it lies gently across the top of the chain stitch. Continue along the length of the chain, and finish by taking the thread to the back of the fabric behind the last stitch, pulling it through & threading it through the back of the worked stitches.

CHESSBOARD FILLING STITCH

Work five straight vertical stitches to form a block (Fig.1) - the spaces between each block should be the same size as the blocks themselves. Once the area has been filled with the blocks, the next stage is to work a cross over the vertical stitches. To do this, bring the needle through to the front of the block at 2A & insert the needle back into the fabric at 2B, bringing it out again at 2C. To complete the cross, insert the needle at 3A bringing it out again midway along the diagonal stitch at 3B, passing the needle under that stitch. Secure the cross by working a small vertical stitch over the centre (Fig.4).

CLOSED FEATHER STITCH

Bring the thread through from the back of the fabric at A (Fig.1), then insert the needle back in to the fabric at B re-emerging to the front again at C, making sure the thread is held under the needle (see Fig.1). Bring the needle through & pull the thread so that the stitch lies snugly on the fabric. Re-insert the needle at A and bring back through at D, remembering to keep the thread tucked under the needle as you bring it through to the front (see Fig. 2). Continue in this manner until you complete the section you are stitching & just finish with a small holding stitch (see Fig.3).

FLY STITCH - LEAF

Begin by working a small straight stitch at the tip of the leaf (Fig.1). Next, bring the needle through to the front at 1A. Then, take the needle through to the back of the fabric at 1B and re-emerge at 1C, looping the thread under the tip of the needle. Holding the loop in place with your thumb, pull the thread until it lies snugly against the straight stitch (Fig.2). Then, take the needle to the back of the fabric at 2A, and re-emerge at 2B, just below the previous stitch. Next (Fig.3), take the needle through to the back of the fabric at 3A and re-emerge at 3B, looping the thread under the tip of the needle. Follow this sequence (Fig.4) until the leaf is completely filled, finishing with a small straight stitch at the base, taking your needle to the back of your work (Fig.5).

FRENCH KNOTS

Work using two strands of thread as follows. Bring the needle up from the back of your work where you want the knot to be. Hold the thread, and wrap it round the needle twice. Keeping the thread taught, push the needle back through the place where it was initially brought through.

HERRINGBONE STITCH

Secure the thread at the back of the fabric & bring it through at A and insert it back through the fabric at B and bringing it through to the front again at C. Follow this sequence again, inserting the needle at C & so on.

RANDOM LONG STITCH

To work this stitch simply work varied length vertical stitches, trying to ensure that no two stitches next to each other end at the same place. Feel free to begin the next stitch by taking the needle through the tip of the stitch below - this can produce a very blended finish. Keep the stitches as close to each other as possible so that none of the background fabric is visible. Be careful not to pull your thread too tightly.

SATIN STITCH

Secure the thread at the back of the fabric & bring it through at A. Take the needle back to the underside of the fabric at B, bringing the needle back through to the front at C. The key to successful satin stitch is to try and keep the stitches as parallel and as close together as possible. Try to avoid pulling the thread too tightly and keep a gentle even tension.

SATIN STITCH - PADDED

The key thing to remember when beginning padded Satin Stitch is to make sure that your final layer of grid runs in the opposite direction to the Satin Stitch. So, check which direction the satin stitch is meant to lie, and then work back from there allowing for two layers of grid stitches (see diagrams).
Firstly, stitch a series of evenly spaced straight stitches beginning and finishing inside of the design outline (Fig.1). Next, stitch a second layer of evenly spaced straight stitches running in the opposite direction to the first set, and again beginning & finishing inside of the design outline, forming a grid (Fig.2). Finally, work your layer of Satin Stitch over the top of the grid, making sure that these stitches are running in the opposite direction to the final grid layer beneath (Fig.3).

SEED STITCH

Secure the thread at the back of the fabric & bring it through at A and work a small straight stitch, inserting the needle at B. Bring the needle through to the front again a short distance away from B at an angle. Insert the needle back into the fabric again and continue filling the space with randomly positioned small stitches.

SPLIT STITCH

Firstly, stitch a straight stitch. Bring the needle through to the right side of the fabric at A (splitting the thread with the needle), then take the needle through to the back of the work at B. Continue this process by bringing the needle through again at C (splitting the thread with the needle), and so on, until the outline is completed.

STEM STITCH

Secure the thread at the back of the fabric & bring it through at A, working from left to right. Insert the needle back into the fabric at B, coming through the fabric again at C (this should be approximately halfway down the length of the previously worked stitch).

STEM STITCH - WHIPPED

Work a base line of stem stitch as detailed above. Secure a new length of thread to the back of the fabric and bring it through to the front halfway along the side of the first stem stitch. Push the needle from right to left under the second stitch, being careful not to catch the fabric on the way through. Pull the thread through until it lies gently across the top of the stem stitch. Continue along the length of the line, and finish by taking the thread to the back of the fabric behind the last stitch, pulling it through & threading it through the back of the worked stitches.

TRELLIS WORK

Fill the area to be worked with evenly spaced horizontal straight stitches (Fig.1). Once all the horizontal stitches have been worked, stitch straight vertical stitches at the same spaced intervals over the top (Fig.2). The next stage is to secure the threads at the intersecting points (Figs.3-4). This can be done in various ways including a small cross stitch, a single slanting stitch or a mixture of both.