Simple Stitches

Easy Hand and Embroidery Stitches

I decided that, to go along with my lenses about re-using cloth and clothes, it would be a good idea to make a lens showing some of the simpler hand and embroidery stitches.

Many years ago when I was starting out with sewing of all kinds, I made my own notebooks of diagrams for a large number of stitches and I included notes on types of embroidery and techniques. The following material is all drawn from those books I put together way back when.

You don't need to go to the trouble of making up your own notebooks, just refer to this Squidoo page any time you need to.

*The dotted line in the diagrams indicates the desired line of stitching.

Always remember not to pull your thread too tight. Fabric stretches and gives and if your stitches are too tight the threads will be prone to snap. Most embroidery stitches are shown at their best when the thread is not pulled tight.

Simple Stitches by Katherine Carington Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 UK: Scotland License.
Based on a work at www.squidoo.com.

The Chain Gang

... versatile stitches which stretch with the fabric

Chain stitch is a very versatile stitch which can stretch with the fabric you are working with.

In embroidery, it can be used to outline areas or to solidly fill them when worked in rows within a shape. In everyday handsewing it can be used as a seam stitch where you need the seam to have some elasticity.

There are many variations on the simple chain stitch and I will show a few here.

To make a simple chain stitch, first thread your needle and knot the end of your thread. Bring the needle up through the work on the line of stitching and form a loop in front of the needle with the thread. Push the needle back through the fabric very close to (or in exactly the same hole as) you cam up through the fabric, angling it so that it comes back through to the front of the work within the loop you just formed.

Repeat the process and you will find a chain forming nicely for you.

Never pull handstitches totally tight or you will find the fabric cannot lie flat but becomes puckered.

Many embroideries originating from India used to be worked solely in machine stitched chain stitch. The drawbak being that catch the thread wrongly and you can lose all the stitching. Although you will use shorter lengths of thread and therefore would not lose a lot of work, it is still worth taking a tiny locking stitch every so often in a length of stitches to limit the distance your work could unravel, especially if using this for seams on a stretch fabric.

A locking stitch is simply a backstitch or two on the wrong side of the work.

The Chain Gang

... why not start a notebook to save these in

This is what just one page of my notebook looks like.

If you do this, you need to make your diagrams nice and clear. Bear in mind that over the years the pages will fade and yellow (as you can see), if you use only pencil then you'll find your hard work disappears over time, eventually even pen will fade, but you can extend its life nowadays by using the plastic pockets produced for ring binders to protect your pages, or one of those neat pocketed folders.

Of course, one of the advantages of using plastic pockets is that you can put two A4 sheets back to back in one pocket and they are easily removable for reference while working. Most of my pages are hole-punched for the ring binder and even those with strengthening around the punched holes show considerable signs of wear, indeed, some are torn through at the holes and in danger of becoming lost, as you may be able to see in the pic above.

Open Chain

... can look like a braid trimming

This is a useful, stretchy stitch for chunkier fabrics or for a different effect in embroidery fillings. Again, it is vital that you do not pull your stitches too tight but leave them lying flat against the surface of your work.

Worked in a very similar way to the simple chain stitch, the only difference being that you are not going down through the fabric close to the place you came up.

Obviously, the more consistency you can get in the size of the gap between the stitches, the neater and better the effect.

Cable (chain) Stitch

... worked in a metallic thread is most effective

Cable chain is a stitch which will stretch but because of the small backstitch in between the loops it will not unravel. Work in the same way as the chain stitch except that when you bring the needle up through the loop, you make a small stitch over the end, similar to the Lazy Daisy below, and come back up through the fabric just behind the forward end to form the small backstitch.

This stitch can be dressed up as a very fancy little stitch, something you might want to try with other stitches as well, by interlacing two rows of stitching with either the same or a contrasting thread.

Interlaced Cable.

Work the two rows of cable, remembering that your stitches need to be of even size (this is achievable more easily on some fabrics than others) then lace between as shown in the diagram above. Work all the area in one direction, then come back in the other direction to complete the effect.

This can be most striking when successful but can also be a little delicate and easily caught and pulled. Not ideal for use on clothing but excellent in embroidery for pictures etc.

Zig-zag Cable.

As you can see from the diagram above, zig-zag cable stitch is worked by alternating the direction of the stitches. This can be a useful decorative stitch for oversewing a turned edge or at seams to provide a greater degree of elasticity in the stitching.

Lazy Daisy

... flowers everywhere

A really useful little stitch is Lazy Daisy or Detached Chain.

The actual stitching is pretty obvious, a single chain stitch with a small stitch holding down the loop, when worked with four, five or six others into a circle it perfectly imitates a very simple daisy flower, ideal for a little girl's outfit or bag.

There are variations on this, you can make the stitch which holds the loop down longer and work the circle of dtached chain so that the long stitches are in the centre for a different style of flower.

Russian Chain

As you can see, three chain stitches, two of which are worked through the loop of the first, form this little stitch. You can use it as a spot pattern on a larger area, you could work in a contrasting thread to your fabric and grade the distance apart your stitches are so that you have a closely filled field, say, at the top of the work, graduating to a sparsley filled field at the bottom.

Tete de Boef (Bull's head)

Begin by making two small back stitches at approximately 90 degrees to each other, then form one chain stitch, holding down the loop with a small stitch.

This is another filler stitch which can be used in the same way as the Russian chain stitch and here's another trick you can do with either of these stitches. By working the stitches alternately upright and upside down you can form what looks like a row of braiding, as shown below.

One kind of Braid Stitch

Braid Stitch

... can be used to form a raised edge

Above in the polaroid I've shown one kind of braid stitch. This must be worked quite loosley so that you can easily slide the needle between the last but one stitch and the fabric.

Obviously, this gives a raised chain effect. images 1 to 4 show how the work is started off and image 5 above, shows a short row of the stitch.

Most effective, in my opinion, when used as a highlight on plain fabric, say half an inch above the hem of a garment, or as a trim close to the edge of a pocket etc.

Experiment and enjoy.

Buttonhole Stitch

Buttonhole Stitches

... a practical and decorative stitch which can ease with the fabric

As the name implies, this stitch is the one which was always used to bind the edges of buttonholes before the advent of machine embroidery. It is also known as blanket stitch because it was also used to bind the edges of blankets but it has many more uses.

Buttonhole stitch and its variations are often used to apply decorative edgings to all kinds of items but the main example of its use is in Broderie Anglaise (which didn't originate in England but Eastern Europe) and Renaissance Embroidery.

If you are planning to do some Renaissance embroidery or Broderie Anglaise, you should be aware that the stitching must be completed before you cut away the fabric to leave the eyelets and open spaces which typify these kinds of embroidery.

This is not only a very practical stitch which holds raw edges well and has a degree of stretch in it, it can be a very decorative stitch. Two examples of more decorative forms are shown below.

Crossed Buttonhole Stitch

Closed Buttonhole Stitch.

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Recycling is becoming increasingly essential if we are to live sustainably on this little planet. We can recycle or reuse much of what is currently thrown away and doing so has another benefit, it reduces the amount of waste which has to go to landf...

Will you try some hand embroidery?

... try it with wool on an old jersey to jazz it up a bit

Whether or not you are a seamstress, you might like to try a few embroidery stitches to jazz up a tired dress, jacket or jersey. I would love to hear your thoughts about it here

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ChapelHillFiddler ChapelHillFiddler Aug 13, 2009 @ 11:44 am

I am SO IMPRESSED with your drawings! I know from experience these are not easy!!! I'm lensrolling you right back! Thanks.

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Laniann Laniann May 21, 2009 @ 4:20 pm

I enjoyed embroidery, but I never learned very many stitches. My father taught me, I guess he didn't know all the stitches. Thanks for the walk down memory lane. 5*s

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JaguarJulie JaguarJulie Apr 14, 2009 @ 8:44 am

You know, it is all because of the internet AND squidoo that I do NOT get any time to do simple embroidery, sew, read, iron, etc. and dust my house. But, who is complaining, right? This is such a neat how-to lens -- love it!

Reply

BevsPaper BevsPaper Apr 13, 2009 @ 7:50 am

I love this lens! Very informative and helpful. You've planted some seeds in my brain for some things I can do.

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tandemonimom tandemonimom Jan 1, 2009 @ 5:39 pm

This is one of those things I always intend to do, but so rarely get around to ... thanks for the inspiration. 5*

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Simple Stitches

Easy Hand and Embroidery Stitches

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

The Chain Gang

... versatile stitches which stretch with the fabric

The Chain Gang

... why not start a notebook to save these in

Open Chain

... can look like a braid trimming

Cable (chain) Stitch

... worked in a metallic thread is most effective

Lazy Daisy

... flowers everywhere

Braid Stitch

... can be used to form a raised edge

Buttonhole Stitches

... a practical and decorative stitch which can ease with the fabric

This lens belongs to ...

Will you try some hand embroidery?

... try it with wool on an old jersey to jazz it up a bit

Sewing books from Amazon

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