Basic Hand Embroidery Stitches
Basic Hand Embroidery Stitches is the highest-weight practical domain: the exam asks you to identify a stitch from its worked appearance, state its use and work it with even tension.
The core stitches
- Line stitches: running (dashed, also used for gathering), back stitch (continuous and strong for outlines), stem/outline (slanted, curves well for stems), chain (looped, good for thick lines).
- Filling stitches: satin (parallel close stitches, small areas), long-and-short (shaded blending of colour), cross stitch (counted, geometric), French knot (texture, flower centres).
- Edge and decorative: blanket/buttonhole (edges, appliqué, mirror work), herringbone, feather, fly, lazy daisy (single chain loop, petals), bullion (coiled and raised), couching (laid thread held by small stitches, used with zari).
Rules that earn marks
- Start with a waste knot on the front and finish by running the thread under worked stitches at the back - no knots on the reverse, as they create bulk and shadow through.
- Keep stitch length and tension even; the fabric must lie flat, not pucker.
- Travel between areas under existing stitches, never across the open back.
Worked example
A 3 cm leaf is to be filled in satin stitch. First outline it with split stitch so the edge stays crisp, then work satin stitches perpendicular to the central vein, starting at the widest part, each stitch spanning the full width and sharing one outline hole. Worked across the leaf rather than along it, the stitches do not slip and the edge stays sharp.
Traps
Satin stitches that are too long (they snag and lift), knotting the thread at the back, mixing stranded and pearl cotton within one shaded area, and working lazy daisy without the small holding stitch that anchors the loop.