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.

|