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Embroidery Stitch Basics

July 30, 2020 By Lauren at Molly and Mama 2 Comments

Welcome to the wonderful world of hand embroidery! This is post four in my series about Embroidery for Beginners. First we looked at all the supplies you will need, then we talked about how to transfer your design to fabric. The third instalment explores how to actually get started with tips for the basics, like placing your fabric in an embroidery hoop and preparing your needle and thread. Here we talk about sewing the basic stitch types, before exploring how to finish an embroidery hoop for wall hanging.

If you’re new to hand stitching, this stitch guide will highlight the most simple (and often the most popular) stitches, what they are used for and how I like to sew them. Basic hand stitching techniques are used in lots of my sewing patterns. I also love to include embroidery to embellish my designs too.

If you’re looking for a free and easy project to get started with, sign up for my newsletter to receive this beautiful embroidery wreath design.

Here’s the same design stitched in different colours and on different fabrics.

Let’s Get Started

There are so many types of hand sewing stitches and they each have different (and sometimes interchangeable) uses. To add to the confusion, sewing stitches are often named differently in different parts of the world, or have alternative names which sometimes change depending on the generation you were born in. But these basic stitches tend to be fairly universal. If you know them as something else, be sure to let me know!

How you stitch can vary, depending on how you were taught and whether you are right or left handed. Being left-handed myself, I have realised that I often sew the stitches in the same direction as a right-handed person would, though sometimes I do them in reverse. Either way the instructions are the same, you may just find it easier to mentally flip the illustrations to help you visualise sewing from left to right.

The important thing to remember is to stitch in a way you are comfortable with, and that you enjoy. After all, that’s why we stitch!

Back Stitch

Back stitch is the perfect choice for quick and easy embroidery outlines because it creates a solid looking line.

Bring the thread up from the back of the fabric at 1 and take one stitch backward down through 2. Bring the needle up one stitch length in front (3), then stitch back into 1. Bring the needle up again at continue back stitching in this way, ensuring the stitch lengths remain the same with every stitch.

I use back stitch a lot for adding facial details to my felt friends, like the eyes and mouths on my Miss Molly and Friends Pin Cushions below. Stitching with felt is a little different, so I describe how to transfer embroidery designs like back stitch to your felt projects HERE.

Blanket Stitch

Blanket stitch creates a decorative and protective finish on fabric edges. It’s ideal for sewing felt together and for appliqué.

On two raw fabric or felt edges, sew a single stitch around the fabric edge first. Bring the needle from the wrong side of the fabric or felt, and up between the two layers where the thread loops over. This is stitch 1. To make the blanket edge stitch, bring the needle across to make the second stitch. Push straight through both layers of fabric or felt at 2. Catch the thread under the needle before you pull the thread firmly. The stitch will sit on the raw edge of the fabric at point 3. Repeat this step to continue stitching.

I use blanket stitch on lots of my felt projects. I’ve used it here to sew the edges on the Fifi Fox Pin Cushion. It’s used as a flat stitch to sew the fox’s nose onto the face, and also as an edge stitch to sew two pieces of felt together.

French Knot

French knots are small dots which are great for showcasing details, like the seeds on a strawberry or the eyes on a small doll.

Bring the thread out at the required position for the knot. Hold the eye of the needle on the fabric near the thread starting point. Circle the thread twice around the needle, manoeuvre the needle tip to the starting point, and reinsert it a thread or two beside the starting point (left image). Pull the needle down through to the back of the fabric, holding the thread firmly as you do (right image). Larger knots can be made by increasing the number of floss strands on the needle, or the number of times the floss is wound around the needle.

French Knots make great centres for flowers and daisies. You can see them below as yellow flower centres, and also as purple grapes. The Simple Sewing Folder pattern features this embroidery panel that uses all the stitches described here.

Lazy Daisy Stitch

Lazy daisy stitch is ideal for sewing pretty flower shapes. Sew each lazy daisy stitch around a central point like a French knot to create a flower.

Bring the thread out at point 1 on the top left image. Hold the thread and then insert the needle back into point 1 and then back out at point 2. Pull the thread through but keep it under the needle point, to form a loop. Fasten the loop by sewing a small stitch over the loop from point 1 to point 2 on the top right image. Repeat the stitch five times to make a daisy flower shape. The stitches can each be joined around a central point or made separately. Use a French knot to form the centre of the daisy.

Lazy Daisy Stitch is used extensively in the Spring Fling Pouch pattern. Here it forms the green leaves at the end of the wreath and it’s also used for some of the flowers too. You can also see French knots and back stitch here too.

Running Stitch

The most basic of hand stitching techniques, running stitch, is a series of straight stitches sewn in a line. It’s often used as a simple but effective hand quilting technique. It can also be used as a temporary basting stitch to keep fabrics in place while you are sewing pieces together.

Bring the needle up from the fabric back at 1, and push it down at 2, then up at 3 and down at 4. Continue to pass the needle over and then under the fabric, in a straight line. Adjust the stitch length to change the effect of the quilting. 

You can see the hand quilting running stitch details I added to the Stella Cushion pattern. Using different coloured floss can create a beautiful visual effect. The centre wreath is a combination of back stitch stems, satin stitch leaves, and lazy daisy flowers.

Satin Stitch

Satin stitch is used to fill small spaces with solid colour. It is made up of straight stitches worked closely beside each other in a parallel fashion.

Bring the thread from the back or wrong side of the fabric and out at 1. Sew a straight stitch by taking the needle back in at 2 and bringing it back out again beside 1, ready for the next stitch. Repeat this stitch to fill the space, adjusting the stitch length as necessary.

Some people like to sew a back stitch border around the shape to be stitched before sewing over it with satin stitches.

The Flora Fiesta Embroidery Pattern heavily features satin stitch in all the solid coloured sections like the flower petals and leaves. You can change the look of the stitch by changing the direction that the stitches are sewn in.

Stem Stitch

Stem stitch is created by forming a continuous line of overlapped stitches. It’s perfect for stitching curved lines, or sewing flower stems. It’s almost the reverse of back stitch and has a slightly raised, rope-like finish.

Sew a straight stitch by bringing the needle out at point 1 and back down, a stitch length away, at point 2. Take the needle backwards and bring it out at point 3, which sits on top and is halfway between stitch 1 and 2. Repeat this backwards motion stitch to form an overlapped line.

Whip Stitch

Whip stitch is ideal for edging or sewing fabrics like felt together around the raw edge. It’s also a useful alternative when an area is too small for blanket stitch.

Hold the aligned raw edges of the felt or fabric together. To start, from the wrong side of the fabric or felt (between the two layers), push the needle through the first layer to exit at point 1. Make a stitch by bringing the needle around and through both fabric layers at point 2 and out through point 3.

I use whip stitch to sew hexagons together for English paper piecing. You can read more about it in my Hexies Tutorial. 

The Hettie Hexie Mini Quilt uses a lot of whip stitching for all those cute hexagons (plus a load of running stitch quilting too)!

Is there more?

Once you have acquired the basic stitches, you can really do almost any hand embroidery!

For more inspiration, pop by the store for beginner friendly, easy to follow, instant download sewing patterns!

I hope you’ve found this post helpful. Happy stitching, Lauren.

This was written by Lauren Wright and appeared first on Molly and Mama https://www.MollyandMama.com.au

Filed Under: Embroidery For Beginners, Tutorials Tagged With: embroidery, Embroidery stitches

Comments

  1. Dianna says

    February 24, 2021 at 6:13 am

    Thank you so much. I’ve been wondering what size needles and what kind of pens to use. I can’t wait to get you free pattern and get started! So glad I found you!!!

    Reply
    • Lauren at Molly and Mama says

      February 24, 2021 at 11:34 am

      Dianna, I am so pleased you’ve found it useful. Thanks for leaving a comment.

      Reply

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Studio For Pretty Stitches
🧵🪡 Our fourth week of the #seworderly challe 🧵🪡 Our fourth week of the #seworderly challenge that I am cohosting with Ali from  @arabesquescissors has already begun! For our final week we’re discussing how you organise your projects for SEWING ON THE GO! This might look a little different for you at the moment (depending on where you live) but how and what do you pack to maximise sewing whilst travelling or out-and-about? 

Travel sewing kits are especially applicable for hand sewing projects like English paper piecing and embroidery (even if you’re moving from the sewing room to the couch🤣). But you may also have tips for traveling with your machine and quilt WIPs too, particularly if you have enjoyed sewing on holidays or attending retreats. 

To join the challenge, simply share a public photo showing us how you plan for sewing on the go. Tag us and use the #seworderly hashtag so others can find you. We’re thrilled to see the generosity with which you’re sharing ideas, tips and more! 

Your post will put you in the running to win this gorgeous bundle of three PDF ‘Cathedral Window’ patterns from @arabesquescissors. So cute, right? Please see Ali’s prize post for more information. And don’t forget that we’ll also be selecting a Grand Prize Winner at the end of the month. Good luck everyone! 💗
🧵🪡 Week 3 of the #SewOrderly challenge with 🧵🪡 Week 3 of the #SewOrderly challenge with me and Ali from @arabesquescissors has come to an end. For the past week you’ve been sharing your tips and tricks for storing and organising your Work In Progress (WIP) projects and we’ve been loving reading all the suggestions and seeing all of your photos. 

We’ve selected @kirsty_sews and @mtnlaurel96 as our winners of the Molly and Mama Pattern pack including the #SimpleSewingFolder, #SummerRosePouch and #MissMollyandFriends. Congratulations ladies! 

I’m looking forward to putting together a blog post with some of the fantastic ideas that have been shared this week. Here’s a couple of my favourites. 

-	Small square pastry or cake containers work well for storing WIPs, as do scrapbooking shelves and containers. 
-	If a WIP is something you’d like to work on more, put it somewhere that you’re likely to see, so you’re more likely to pick it up and get some stitching done! 
-	Label each box or tub with the name of the project, the date it was started, the fabrics used, and any other relevant information you want to keep at hand. 
-	@amandalovestocreate shared a terrific tip of adding an adhesive photo of the project to the label! I love that idea!
-	Make a note in your diary or set an alarm on your phone to remind you to check in with your WIPs and their progress. This might give you a much needed push to get stuck into a project you may have otherwise forgotten about.
-	Find a likeminded maker and ask them to become your Accountability Partner so you can periodically check in with each other and give yourselves a gentle nudge to make some progress on your WIPS! 

If you have more ideas, we’d still love to hear them. Ali has put together a great round up of ideas on her blog too. 

Stay tuned as we now share more information about our fourth and final week, with Sewing on the go! 

#mollyandmama #arabesquescissors #seworderly #sewsorted #seworganised #seworganized #sewingroom #craftroom  #craftroomorganization #quiltstorage #quilting #sewingwips
Did you see my posts over at @aurifilthread this w Did you see my posts over at @aurifilthread this weekend? I did an Instagram takeover which was heaps of fun! Pop over to see what I shared. One of the posts included my Top 5 Tips for Embroidery Success, and I thought it was silly of me not to share those tips here too! But really, these tips apply to all sewing. They’re simple but true! 

1.	Choose the right tool for the job. You don’t need to spend a lot of money, but using a needle you can easily thread with the right type of thread for the job, can make all the difference to your experience. 

2.	Start simple. As a beginner, starting a large and intricate design might become overwhelming if only because of the amount of time it will take to complete. Start with a smaller design and move on to more detailed projects as your skills progress. 

3.	Get help from the experts. Watch You Tube videos, read blog posts, enrol in online courses. Over time you’ll develop a whole new skill set that you’ll be able to pass on to someone one day too. 

4.	Don’t rush. It’s not a race, and embroidery is all about slow stitching. 

5.	Leave out your embroidery so you’re more likely to pick it up and continue stitching when you have a spare moment. The more you stitch, the better you’ll become. And it’s a wonderful mindfulness activity! 

#mollyandmama #mollyandmamastitchlibrary #prettystitchesclub #aurifil #aurifilfloss #aurifilthread #embroideryfloss #embroidery #embroiderythread #embroiderytips #embroiderersofinstagram #sewingtips #stitching #handstitching #handsewing #stitchingtips #slowsewing #slowstitching
One of the sewing patterns up for grabs in this we One of the sewing patterns up for grabs in this week’s prize pack for the #SewOrderly challenge is my Simple Sewing Folder. So I just wanted to show you a little more about this pattern in my store. 

Featuring a hand embroidered front panel, little hexie details, and simple patchwork, the cover is all about showcasing the ‘pretty’. 

Open it up (swipe to see) and it’s all about the practical! There’s a lace zipper pocket, tabs for tools, a wool felt needle and pin minder, a thread holder and spaces for hoop storage. 

This folder is perfect for storing ‘work in progress’ projects - the focus of this week’s theme for our sewing room organisation challenge, hosted by me and @arabesquescissors. 

If you’d like to know more, there are links in my profile to my store and my blog. I’d love you to get involved! 

#mollyandmama #seworderly #simplesewingfolder #embroidery #embroiderydesign #sewingfolder #projectfolder #sewingroomstorage #sewingspace #notionstorage #sewingonthego #hexies #hexagons #quilting #quiltedpouch #sewingpouch #tildateatowel
I don’t show my face on here anywhere near as of I don’t show my face on here anywhere near as often as I should. And it’s funny because you’ll have a picture of someone in your head and they often don’t look anything like what you imagine. So for what it is worth, this is me, Lauren. I wanted to say hi and share a bit more about me, as there’s so many new faces here lately. Thank you so much for joining us! 

Here’s 5 facts about me;

1️⃣ My first degree was in Behavioural Science, but I used my second degree in Education to become a primary school teacher. 

2️⃣ After having our two kids, we decided I’d work from home and I’ve been sewing, blogging and designing ever since! 

3️⃣ My maternal grandmother’s name was Molly and my kids call my mum ‘Mama’. I named my business after Molly and Mama in honour of the skills, lessons and traits they passed down to me. I’m so blessed to be able to  share that love of creative expression with all of you! 

4️⃣ My favourite colour is pink. Big surprise there 😂! And I have a love for all things pretty and sweet. 

5️⃣ I love drawing and illustrating and hope to bring more of that to my work in the future! 

I’d love to meet more of you and hear where you are from. Feel free to leave me a reply.  Thanks for your support and encouragement of my little biz. It means the world to me! Lauren 💗
🌼🌸🪡There’s something new and very excit 🌼🌸🪡There’s something new and very exciting coming to Molly and Mama soon! Are you subscribed to the newsletter? Find a link to join in my profile, so you can stay tuned for the release of the ‘Pretty Stitches Club’. It’s all about sharing my love of embroidery, slow sewing and beautiful stitchery🪡🌸🌼

#mollyandmama #prettystitchesclub #studioforprettystitches #embroidery #embroideryclub #stitcheryclub #sewingclub #sewingsubscription #embroiderypatterns #monthlyembroideryclub #handstitching #slowsewing #aurifilthread #aurifilfloss #aurifilartisan #aurifloss #tinystitches #floralembroidery #embroiderywreath
Our Week Three prize pack for the #seworderly chal Our Week Three prize pack for the #seworderly challenge with @arabesquescissors includes three of my @mollyandmama  PDF sewing patterns; the #SimpleSewingFolder, the #SummerRosePouch and the #MissMollyAndFriends pin cushion pattern. 

 Ali and I will each select a winner on Monday, 22nd February, 2021.

To enter, post a photo or video on your public profile showcasing how you store your projects and quilts as you’re working on them or even when they are completed. Tag @mollyandmama and @arabesquescissors and use the #seworderly hashtag so others can find you. 

T&Cs
- the giveaway is open worldwide to participants 18 years and over, with a public Instagram profile, and who post in alignment with the guidelines outlined above. 
- Entries will close at 11.59pm AEST on Sunday, 21th Feb 2021. 
- The two winners will be announced here on Monday, 22nd Feb, 2021 and will need to provide an email address to receive their prize. 
- This giveaway is in no way associated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Instagram. 

Thanks so much for sharing the #seworderly love! And you can find out more about these patterns in the store - there’s a link in my profile. The Simple Sewing Folder is a fantastic project folder for embroidery or EPP storage, perfect for WIPs. How do you store your ‘work in progress’ projects and quilts?
Have you been participating in the #seworderly cha Have you been participating in the #seworderly challenge with me and Ali from @arabesquescissors? We’re sorting our sewing rooms for the month of February and have already tackled NOTIONS and FABRIC. 

This week we’re exploring how to store and organise our completed QUILTS AND PROJECTS and those we’re still working on (WIPs). Would you like to join us? There’ll be a sweet @mollyandmama prize pack up for grabs, but more importantly, you’ll be having fun sorting your sewing space knowing that there are likeminded friends joining you! 

Share a photo of your quilt and project storage, tag @mollyandmama and @arabesquescissors, use the hashtag #seworderly, ask questions or share tips and advice. We’d love you to join us! 

#mollyandmama #arabesquescissors #sewsorted #seworganised #seworganized #fabricbundle #sewingroom #craftroom #quilts #craftroomorganization #quiltstorage #quilting #quiltfolding #serioussewistsset #beeapplique #libertyfabric #libertytanalawn #epp #englishpaperpiecing #libertywiltshire
Ali from @arabesquescissors and I are wrapping up Ali from @arabesquescissors and I are wrapping up week 2 of our #seworderly challenge. This week has been a HUGE one, where we’ve focussed on FABRIC STORAGE. We’ve been overwhelmed by the number of you who have wholeheartedly jumped onboard and unreservedly shared your sewing spaces and craft rooms. So thank you and congratulations on the success you have achieved this week; from tidying just a small stash, a basket or a drawer, to refolding and sorting all the fabrics in your entire room! 

So many of you have tackled your yardage, pre-cuts, scraps, fusibles, interfacings, batting and more! And you’ve been so generous with your tips and ideas. So thank you! I’m sure those of you who are yet to tackle your stash will get a lot of inspiration from heading to the #seworderly hashtag! 

We can’t always keep our fabrics in pretty little arrangements like my first photo of Liberty here. So swipe to see my second photo – a more realistic view, taken from the inside of one of my newly organised Billy bookshelves from Ikea. I like to keep my fabrics folded, in plastic tubs, behind solid cupboard doors, so I can avoid sun damage and reduce the effects of dust, pests and moisture. They’re organised by type and size (so yardage, fat quarters, smaller pre-cuts and scraps are generally all separated), then by colour or their use. How do you organise yours? 

I’ll be compiling all the tips and tricks I learned from my own experiences and from reading all of your posts, into a blog post really soon. So stay tuned for that. 

And Ali and I have both chosen a winner for the @arabesquescissors pattern prize pack for this week. Please see Ali’s post to see if it’s you! Thank you so much to all who participated. We’re looking forward to kicking off Week 3 shortly. Let’s explore PROJECTS & QUILTS. Please join us (find out more about the #seworderly challenge on the blog, using the link in my profile). 

Happy sorting, Lauren x 

#mollyandmama #arabesquescissors #sewsorted #seworganised #seworganized #stashbusting #stashstorage #fabricstorage #fabricsorting #fabricstash #libertytanalawn #libertyfabrics #libertybundle #fabricbundle #fabriccontainers #sewingroom #craftroom
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