Outline and fill stitches

1A small set of stitches goes a long way

Expert embroiderers know hundreds of stitches, but most beautiful work uses only a handful, done well. In this lesson you will learn three outline stitches and three fill stitches, and make a sampler: a practice cloth that shows each stitch clearly, like a dictionary you can refer to for every later project.

2Starting and finishing a thread

• Start: leave a tail of about 5 cm on the back and hold it there with your finger while the first few stitches trap it. Or make a small knot at the end of the thread.
• Finish: on the back, slide the needle under 3 or 4 stitches you have already made, then cut the thread close.
• Never carry the thread more than about 2 cm across the back to reach the next area. Long loose threads show through thin fabric and catch on things. End off and start again instead.
• Pull each stitch until it lies flat on the fabric. Pulled too tight, it puckers the fabric; too loose, it makes a loop.

3Outline stitches

• Running stitch: the needle goes up and down at even spaces, leaving a dashed line. Quick, light and good for borders and texture lines. Stitches of 3 to 5 mm look neat.
• Backstitch: each stitch goes back to meet the end of the one before, so the stitches touch and make a solid, strong line. Ideal for lettering and fine details.
• Chain stitch: a line of linked loops. It follows curves easily and gives a bold, textured line; rows of it can also fill an area.
• Stem stitch (for later): a rope-like line in which each stitch overlaps the one before, slightly to one side. Good for stems and curved outlines.

4Fill stitches

• Satin stitch: straight stitches laid side by side from one edge of the shape to the other, so close that no fabric shows. Keep every stitch parallel, and keep them no longer than about 1 cm, or they sag and snag.
• Long and short stitch: for bigger areas. The first row alternates long and short stitches along the edge; the next rows fit into the gaps. It also lets you blend one colour into another for shading.
• Seed stitch: tiny straight stitches scattered in different directions, for a speckled texture such as sand, seeds or a tree's bark.
• French knot: wrap the thread twice round the needle close to the fabric and go back down right beside where you came up. Each knot makes a raised dot, good for flower centres and eyes.

Worked example: stitches on a border

Niyonzima wants a running-stitch border 24 cm long. Each stitch is 8 mm and each gap 4 mm, so one stitch plus one gap takes 12 mm. The border is 24 cm = 240 mm, so it holds 240 ÷ 12 = 20 stitches. Before starting, he marks a dot every 12 mm with a pencil and ruler so the stitches come out even.

5Make it: a stitch sampler

1. Put a square of plain cotton about 20 cm × 20 cm in your hoop.
2. Rule six light pencil lines across it, about 2 cm apart.
3. Stitch one row each of running stitch, backstitch and chain stitch.
4. Below them, draw three small shapes: an oval about 2 cm long, a square about 4 cm across and a circle about 3 cm across. Fill the oval with satin stitch, the square with long and short stitch, and the circle with seed stitch, then add a few French knots.
5. Outline the oval in backstitch in a darker colour.
6. Next to each stitch, write its name lightly in pencil and backstitch over the letters.

6Look closely

This knot pattern was worked entirely in chain stitch with shiny perlé cotton on a thick woollen cloth. Follow one band of colour: the chain curves smoothly round every bend, because each loop can turn slightly from the one before. The embroiderer used two or three rows side by side to make each band wide.

Practice