Straight Stitch

Bring the needle up at 1 and then insert it at 2. Repeat as required.
Note: Straight stitches of similar lengths placed close together at random angles are also referred to as seed stitch.

Split Stitch

Bring the needle up at 1 and down at 2. Pull the thread through firmly. Bring the needle up again at 3, through the centre of the previous stitch. Repeat as required.

Granitos stitch

Bring the needle up at 1 and down at 2. Repeat, always coming up and going down in the same holes. Continue, as required, until the stitch is the desired size.

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French knot

1. Bring the needle up at 1. Holding the thread taut with the finger and thumb of your other hand, tightly wind the thread twice around the tip of the needle.
2. Still holding the thread, insert the needle very close to 1 and pull it through to the back of the work, so the twists lie neatly on the fabric surface. Repeat as required.

Note: For a smaller French knot, wrap the thread around the needle just once in Fig 1. For a larger knot, wrap the thread three or four times.

Stem stitch

1. Bring the needle up at 1, down at 2 and up at 3, halfway between 1 and 2, above the stitch. Bring the needle down at 4 and up next to 2 (at 5), above the stitch. Repeat to the end of the line. Each stitch should be the same length and begin halfway along the previous stitch.
2. For a broader line, angle the needle slightly so that it is inserted below the required line and brought out just above it, a tiny distance above the end of the previous stitch.

Long & short stitch

1. Begin stitching along the outline with a row of long and short stitches: Bring the needle up at 1, down at 2, up at 3 and down at 4. Repeat.
2. For the second row, bring the needle up at 5, down at 6, piercing the base of the short stitch above, up at 7 and down at 8, piercing the base of the long stitch above. Repeat. Note that the stitches in the second and all subsequent rows should be the same length; only the first and last rows will use a combination of long and short stitches. End with a row of long and short stitches.

Satin stitch

Bring the needle up at 1, down at 2, up at 3, down at 4 and up at 5. Repeat as required. The stitches should be close together, with no fabric showing between them.

Back stitch

Bring the needle up at 1, down at 2 and up at 3. The distance of 1–2 should be the same as the distance of 1–3. Begin the next stitch by inserting the needle at 1 again. Repeat, as required, keeping the stitch length constant.

Running stitch

Bring the needle up at 1, down at 2, up at 3 and down at 4, ready to begin the next repeat. The stitch lengths can be kept the same for a uniform look or varied to create a pattern.

Fern stitch

Bring the needle up at 1 and down at 2 to make the centre stitch in the required direction. Bring the needle up at 3, down at 2, up at 4 and down again at 2. Repeat as required.

The three stitches in each group can be all the same length, with equal angles between them, or they may be varied, as required, to create foliage effects.

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Chain stitch

Bring the needle up at 1 and insert it in the same place, leaving a loop of thread on the fabric surface. Bring the needle up at 2, inside the loop and down in the same place, pulling the thread to close the first loop while making the second. Repeat as required. To finish, make a tiny stitch over the last loop to hold it in place.

Detached chain stitch and lazy daisy

Bring the needle up at 1 and insert it in the same place, leaving a loop of thread on the fabric surface. Bring the needle up at 2, inside the loop, and down at a point outside the loop, making a tiny stitch to hold it in place. Repeat as required. When worked in a circle, this is called ‘lazy daisy stitch’.

Woven Wheel Stitch

1. Mark the fabric with a circle, then divide the circle with an odd number of evenly spaced dots. Work an odd number of radiating stitches, or ‘spokes’, by bringing the needle up through each outer dot and in through the circle. Bring a blunt needle up at 1.
2. Weave over the first ‘spoke’ and under the next, then continue weaving, as required, until you reach the ends of the spokes. Pull the first few rounds of weaving tightly to close up the centre but make later rounds looser so that they lie flat. When weaving is complete, insert the needle under the previous round of weaving (eg at 2) and pull the thread through to the back of the fabric.

ABOUT THE BOOK

These instructions are taken from ‘Hoop Art’ by Cristin Morgan, which also includes a beautiful range of embroidery projects to create using these stitches.
ISBN: 9781782216360
RRP: £12.99
Publisher: Search Press
Available from www.searchpress.com