Embroidery begins with BACK STITCH which is the basic of embroidery and is mostly used as a straight outline stitch.
This also forms the base line for other tipes of decorative stitches.
Better colour ideas to be used in the design are also given by this stitch.
According to the shape and size of the design, some of the stitches are narrow and some are broad. Straight as well as uniform direction of the back stitches are the necessity of this type of embroidery. Overlapping one to another can spoil and deshape the stitches.
A back stitch makes stitches more durable. Embroidery must be done in such a way that the different shades of one particular colour get mixed up properly.
STEM STITCH
STEM STITCH is often used in place of back stitch. Durability is the speciality of stem stitch. This is one of the earliest embroidery stitches. Primarily it is an outline stitch which is generaly used to work in floral design.
This can be worked in two ways-
1) It looks like a straight line.
2) It looks like knotted in between.
According to the design, colours of yarn and
thread are taken.
CHAIN STITCH
Chain stitch is made by making loops or chain by stitching. To make straight lines it is used by the embroiderers.Though some one can use it to make floral design or birds as well as animals.
This stitch can be uni coloured or by coloured. The different loops can be embroider with different colours.
In this stitch, distance between two stitches must be
Same otherwise it looks like curve.
LOOP STITCH
This is called LOOP STITCH because it is making loop like chain. This is also known as Detached chain because there is a minor gap between two stitches.
This is used to embroider small petals and leaves. When a petal is broad, two chains are made, one inside and the other outside. This gives a filling effect.
We can use two colours in the same way in a broad petal. This makes it more attractive.
HERRINGBONE STITCH
FEATHER STITCH
BUTTONHOLE STITCH & CUTWORK
This stitch is used mostly in cutwork embroidery. The design must be in continuation for cutwork. For machine cutwork, satin stitch is most preferable stitch. Small fabric buttons are made by the use of buttonhole stitch. The only difference between buttonhole and fabric button is that needle moves from upward to downward in fabric button and vice-versa in buttonhole stitch embroidery.
To form a firm edge, these stitches are placed very close. At times, this stitch is used in the centre of a motif.The needle enters the same hole in the centre each time making a hole in the centre while around it is filled properly.
HERRINGBONE STITCH
Floral designs are mostly embroidered by Herringbone stitch. It is ideal for all types of fabric. Between two even lines,embroidered with slight gap, given tendril effect. Two different colour yarns can be used in double line designs. Each line of the stitch is worked in one colour keeping short gap between. Then different colour yarn is used between the gaps. A double line herringbone stitch gives interlace look.
FEATHER STITCH
This stitch is almost the same as previous herringbone stitch. But it is used differently in double line embroidery and floral design. The stitches are taken with some gap in between in double line design. In the floral design, the stitches are taken close to each other as well as small in size.
The triangular shape to the feather stitch gives the effect of leaf filling known as a cretan stitch or a fishbone stitch. The method is same to embroider them in all these types of feather stitch.
