Embroidery is a timeless and versatile craft that allows you to express yourself creatively with a simple needle and thread. Mastering a few basic stitches is essential for creating beautiful and intricate designs. In this blog post, we'll explore five fundamental hand embroidery stitches: Back Stitch, French Knot, Lazy Daisy Stitch, Woven Wheel (Rose Wheel), and Fishbone Stitch.
- Backstitch: The Foundation Stitch
The Back Stitch is a fundamental stitch that serves as the backbone of many embroidery projects. It's great for creating solid lines and outlining designs.
This shows the backstitch completed with 1 strand (top, great for fine lines and details), 3 strands (middle, perfect for medium weight lines), and 6 strands (bottom, best for emphasizing details with thickest lines). Click image for video tutorial.
- French Knot: Adding Texture and Detail
French Knots are perfect for adding texture and dimension to your embroidery. They create small, raised knots on the fabric, making them ideal for flower centers or creating a textured background.
This shows the French Knot completed with 2 strands (top, great for small details), 4 strands (middle, perfect for medium weight details), and 6 strands (bottom, best for when you have a large area you want to texture to). Click image for video tutorial.
- Lazy Daisy Stitch: Creating Floral Accents
The Lazy Daisy Stitch is a versatile stitch commonly used to create flower petals, leaves, or any other small decorative elements. It's simple yet effective, giving a delicate and whimsical touch to your embroidery.
This shows the Lazy Daisy completed in two ways. They make for great petals on smaller flowers and also are great for leaves on a branch. Click image for video tutorial.
- Woven Wheel: A Beautiful Rose Design
The Woven Wheel, also known as the rose wheel or spider wheel, is a stitch that forms a circular pattern resembling a rose. It's perfect for creating intricate floral motifs or decorative elements. A woven wheel with French Knots in the center makes for a beautiful ranunculus flower.
Featured above is the woven wheel shown as a larger and smaller rose. The purple one shows it with French knots in the center. It really creates a beautiful added detail! Click image for video tutorial.
- Fishbone Stitch: For Realistic Leaves and Petals
The Fishbone Stitch is an excellent choice for creating realistic leaves and petals in your embroidery designs. This stitch creates a V-shaped pattern, resembling the bones of a fish, hence its name.
This is the Fishbone stitch and how it looks as a leaf. Beside it is the Satin Leaf Stitch. As you can see, they look very similar but the technique is different. Which one you use is purely based on preference and which you enjoy more. Click image for video tutorial.
Mastering these five basic hand embroidery stitches opens the door to a world of creative possibilities. As a novice embroiderer, these stitches will serve as a solid foundation for your projects. There are upwards of 400 different types of unique stitches that have been created around the world over the centuries. My practice stitch guide shows you how to complete 14 different basic stitches. Knowing these is more than enough to help you create many wonderful embroidered pieces!
