What Is the Ladder Stitch?
Ladder stitch describes stitches in different needlework crafts, including beadwork, hand embroidery and knitting. In embroidery and knitting, ladder stitch has two meanings within the same craft including a seaming stitch in knitting.
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General
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Except the seaming stitch, the commonality among ladder stitches in different crafts involves the completed stitch resembling a ladder.
Foundation Stitch
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Ladder stitch often acts as a foundation for stitches such as herringbone or brick stitch, according to Beadingdaily.com
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Beadwork
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Beadworkers stitch through beads and also stitch a loop through the previous stitch along the outside edge to work ladder stitch.
Embroidery
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In embroidery, ladder stitch involves a drawn thread technique where the ladder-like thread image results from threads remaining in the design region.
Knitting
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In knitting, ladder stitch involves a combination of knit and purl stitches alternating with all knit rows to produce, again, the appearance of a ladder where the knit and purl stitch groups alternate with each other, as shown at Knittingonthenet.com.
Finishing
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Finally, ladder stitch refers to a finishing stitch used in joining underarm seams in a hand-knit sweater, sometimes called mattress stitch. The crafter brings the yarn needle back under the yarn between the two preceding stitches to produce a seam both more secure than with other stitches as well as a nearly invisible join, as described at Annniesattic.com.
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References
- Photo Credit MASH/Photodisc/Getty Images
