A Few Basic Hand Embroidery Stitches To Know

Because the instructions for the gorgeous appliqué items you want to make ask for hand embroidery, do you find yourself avoiding those projects? Stop putting it off any longer! Never allow hand embroidery to be the obstacle that prevents you from owning a stunning quilt. You are able to embroider if you can sew even one stitch by hand. It really is as simple as that. If you can master only a few of the most fundamental embroidery stitches, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a skilled embroiderer.

To begin, you need to be familiar with the blanket stitch. Are you unsure of how it should appear? Take a look at how a fleece blanket is constructed on the sides. The majority of them have blanket stitches along their edges. The horizontal stitch that runs down the edge of the blanket is held in place by two vertical stitches. The blanket stitch is typically utilised as a finishing stitch around the outside of the motif when appliqué is being done. If you have only ironed the appliqué onto the garment, using the blanket stitch will assist prevent the edges of the cloth from fraying and give the pattern a more professional appearance.

If you have folded the edges of your appliqué under, you can use either a running or walking stitch to fix it in place after you have done so. If you sew your quilts by hand, then you will be familiar with this stitch because it is the one that you will use to put together the pieces of your quilt block. Simply replace one width of sewing thread with three strands of embroidery floss and you will be good to go. Simple!

Back stitches are another good way to finish your quilt top appliqués. To make a back stitch, start with a regular stitch.  The second stitch is made by sewing back to the ending point of the first stitch. The third stitch is forward, the fourth is backward again. On the front of your project, the back stitched line will look almost like a solid line. On the back side, it will look more like a running stitch.

If you need to fill in an area with embroidery stitches, try a split stitch. Make a stitch, then bring the needle back up through the middle of the previous stitch. Continue stitching along to fill your space. Since moving that needle back up splits the previous stitch, it is called a split stitch. Don’t confuse the split stitch with the chain stitch. While they may sound similar, they really are not alike at all in appearance.

A chain stitch splits a stitch, but is made differently to produce a different look. The first “chain” should be made by pushing the needle up through the fabric and then pushing it back down through that very same entry hold. This makes a loop of your floss. Bring the floss back up through the center of the loop. At this point, your needle will be centered in the loop of floss. As you pull the needle, the loop will close. Keep repeating to form a chain of stitches. These are great for embellishing your quilt tops with embroidered flowers or for outlining some appliqués.  Chain stitches are also a good way to embroider a name onto your quilt top. You can use them as filler stitches, too!

All these stitches will be great embellishments on a crazy quilt. These simple stitches can really dress up a crazy quilt and make your little scraps of fabric look absolutely fabulous in your quilt top! Practice your hand embroidery stitches on smaller projects, or on strictly embroidery projects. Once you get the hang of these simple stitches, they really do become almost second nature to create.  You can create the same stitches (and more) if you have an embroidery machine! Remember, you can use it to embellish your quilt blocks, too. Your regular sewing machine may also offer decorative stitching options that you can use!

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