Free Directions for Embroidery Stitches

All stitches start on the wrong side of the fabric with a knotted thread pulled through to the front.

The art of decorating fabric with needle and thread or yarn dates back to ancient times. The primary stitches used today have been found in the earliest surviving fabrics. Free instructions often can be obtained by retailers of embroidery supplies.

Straight Stitches

Pattern darning is one example of straight stitching.

Straight or flat stitches are made without crossing or looping the thread. These stitches include the basic running or straight stitch, the double running stitch, the darning stitch and the satin stitch.

Cross Stitches

Basic cross stitch

The basic cross stitch is made by crossing two equal-sized straight stitches in an X. When many cross stitches lie side-by-side in unlimited variations of color, they make a picture. Variants include the herringbone stitch and fractional cross stitches.

Knotted Stitches

The French knot and the Turk's head knot are both examples of an embroidery stitch in which the thread is knotted around itself before the needle is pulled back through the fabric.

Chain Stitches

The chain stitch, the whipped chain stitch and the lazy daisy stitch are all constructed from loops of thread or yarn secured with a follow-up stitch. These stitches sit on the surface of the fabric and look much different on the back side of the fabric.

References

• New Advent: Ecclesiastical Embroidery
• Heritage Shoppe: Hand Embroidery
• Needlework Tips & Techniques
• Needle N' Thread: Basic Embroidery Stitches