A good knot with which to begin most hand-sewing tasks such as quilting and appliqué. After threading the needle, wrap the end three times around it. Pinch the wrapped thread with one hand and with the other pull the needle through until the thread is all the way through and a firm knot is formed.

Related: Tailor's Buttonhole Stitch

Related: Checkered Chain Band
Using a tapestry needle, Chain Stitch is worked over a foundation of horizontal Straight Stitches.

Alternate Name: Overlapping Herringbone Stitch

Combines Satin Stitch and Threaded Herringbone Stitch.

Related: Raised Stem Stitch

Alternate Name: Raised Stem Stitch Band Can be worked as a band or to fill a shaped area.

A variation of Roumanian Stitch.

A canvas stitch.

Alternate Name: Aubusson Stitch Must be worked on Penelope canvas.

Common Name: Broad Chain Stitch

Traditionally worked as a square on canvas, but can be stitched in a circle on plain fabric.

Alternate Name: Crossed Corners, Crossed Corners Cross Stitch, William & Mary Stitch

A drawn fabric stitch made up of rows of Diagonal Raised Band worked over four threads instead of six.

Buttonhole Stitch with evenly spaced Buttonhole Stitched picots.

Drawn fabric stitch.

"...worked on the principle of double back stitch {Holbein Stitch}."

Common Name: Bullion Knot

Common Name: Open Chain Stitch

Related: Roman Stitch

Related: Roumanian Stitch
Very similar to Roumanian Stitch, except that the tying-down stitch is shorter and pulled tighter.

Rope Stitch looks like a row of slanting Satin Stitch, except that the stitching is slightly raised on one edge.

Alternate Name: Bead Edging Stitch Related: Braid Stitch, Plaited Braid Stitch, Sorbello Stitch

A drawn fabric stitch with a repeating star motif.

Alternate Name: Antique Couching, Figure Stitch, Laid Oriental Stitch, Oriental Laid Stitch Related: Bokhara Couching

Common Name: Italian Hem Stitch

Alternate Name: Antique Stitch, Oriental Stitch A self-couching method.

Common Name: Holbein Stitch An uncommon alternate name for Holbein Stitch.

Related: Darning Stitch
One of the most basic embroidery stitches. Worked left to right, with many variations. The foundation stitch for Japanese Sashiko and Kogin embroideries.

Detached Chain Stitch worked in clusters of three. Working technique varies. Figure 1 looks like a Detached Chain Stitch with ears, while Figure 2 has three true Detached Chain Stitches radiating from a center point. These clusters can be worked in vertical or horizontal lines.

Common Name: Herringbone Stitch

A drawn thread stitch.

Related: Reversed Faggot Stitch
A drawn fabric technique that uses Reversed Faggot Stitch.

A square grid used in Russian Drawn Thread and Hedebo.

Common Name: Herringbone Stitch

Common Name: Cross Stitch

Common Name: Trailing Stitch

Alternate Name: Damask Stitch Related: Encroaching Satin Stitch, Surface Satin Stitch, Padded Satin Stitch
A basic embroidery stitch, that takes practice to work neatly. The shape to be filled can be outlined first in Split Stitch, which will help keep the edges smooth.

A canvas, or needlepoint, stitch.

Alternate Name: Single Knotted Line Stitch Worked from left to right.

Alternate Name: Isolated Back Stitch, Seeding, Simple Knot Stitch, Speckling Stitch, Dot Stitch Related: Granitos
Two small stitches made close together, unlike Granitos that use the same two holes for the stitches. Can be stitched in a line, but typically scattered randomly as a fill (Seed Stitch Filling).

Common Name: Seed Stitch

Alternate Name: Seed Filling Stitch, Speckling Stitch Related: Seed Stitch
Tiny Straight Stitches placed randomly over an area to be filled.

Common Name: Long & Short Stitch

Common Name: Double Back Stitch

Related: Raised Chevron Stitch
A foundation of Arrowhead Stitch, laced with thread of a different color.

Alternate Name: Faggot Filling Stitch, Sheaf Filling Stitch Three parallel Straight Stitches that are wrapped together in the middle.

A fairly complicated but makes an interesting border.

Related: Sheaf Stitch
A canvas stitch

Common Name: Seed Stitch

Related: Open Chain Stitch
An Open Chain Stitch variation that is worked over two parallel laid threads of a contrasting color. Bring the laid threads through from the back and let them lie loosely along lines to be stitched. Begin by bringing the contrasting thread through just below and inside where the left laid thread emerged.

Common Name: Single Feather Stitch

Alternate Name: Diagonal Line Stitch, Diagonal Square Stitch The back of the stitch is similar to Reversed Faggot Stitch.

Related: Feather Stitch, Double Feather Stitch
Looks similar to Blanket Stitch, but is worked vertically, top to bottom, rather than horizontally.

Common Name: Turkey Work

A canvas stitch that, when worked closely together, resembles a carpet pile. Thick, stranded thread or wool is best. Finished tufts will need to be trimmed to make them even.

Common Name: Straight Stitch

Alternate Name: Briar Stitch, Thorn Stitch Related: Feather Stitch
Variation of Feather Stitch.

Common Name: Long-armed Cross Stitch

Common Name: Tulip Stitch

Common Name: Blindstitch

Firmer than a French Knot.

Common Name: Double Cross Stitch

Common Name: Double Knot Stitch

Common Name: Coral Stitch

Related: Braid Stitch, Rosette Chain Stitch
Looks like a row of little pretzels.

Common Name: Stem Stitch

Common Name: Blanket Stitch

Common Name: Crested Chain Stitch

Related: Crested Chain Stitch
Worked vertically, top to bottom. When stitched close together, the result has a braided appearance.

Common Name: Plait Stitch

Common Name: Seed Stitch

Common Name: Whipped Spider Web, Woven Spider Web, Ribbed Spider Web, Raised Stem, Spider Web Lozenge, Ringed Spider Web

Related: Blanket Stitch
A Blanket Stitch variation that outlines a shape, having the arms of the Blanket Stitch facing out.

Related: Back Stitch, Split Stitch
When working Split Back Stitch, the needle splits the previous stitch from the top, rather than coming from underneath as in Split Stitch.

Alternate Name: Kensington Outline Stitch Related: Split Back Stitch
Similar in method to Back Stitch and Stem Stitch, except than when the needle emerges from the back of the fabric, it comes up into the previous stitch. The end result is something like Chain Stitch.

Related: Crow's Foot
Traditonal tailoring technique.

Common Name: Open Chain Stitch

Common Name: Holbein Stitch

Common Name: Four-sided Stitch

A drawn fabric technique.

Related: Cross Stitch
A crossed stitch with vertical and horizontal stitches.

Common Name: Stem Stitch

Common Name: Algerian Eye Stitch

Begin this stitch from the center of the star, bringing the needle out at 1. Insert the needle at 2, bring it out on the left, at 3. Insert the needle in the center again, bring it back out at 4 and go back to the center. Bring the needle out at 5 and finish in the center. To continue, move horizontally or vertically and bring the needle out at center point of next star and continue in the same way, making sure that the arms meet. The end result is a field filled with diamonds.

Common Name: Star Stitch

Alternate Name: Star Filling Stitch An isolated motif stitch that can be worked equally well on canvas, evenweave and plain fabrics. Four Straight Stitches overlap to create a star and are tacked in the middle with another small Straight Stitch or Cross Stitch.

Alternate Name: Crewel Stitch, South Kensington Stitch, Stalk Stitch Related: Outline Stitch
A form of Back Stitch, with the needle coming up just above the previous stitch, rather than into the same hole.

Related: Stem Stitch, Stem Stitch Shading

Related: Stem Stitch, Stem Stitch Filling

Alternate Name: Ladder Stich

A drawn fabric stitch that forms a checkerboard filling.

Common Name: Open Chain Stitch

Common Name: Back Stitch

Alternate Name: Upright Gobelin Stitch

Common Name: Window Filling

Common Name: Cobbler Filling Stitch

Common Name: Overcast Stitch

Alternate Name: Stroke Stitch, Single Satin Stitch

Common Name: Wave Stitch Filling

Related: Diagonal Woven Band
The method for working is the same as Diagonal Woven Band, but the colors are arranged differently.

Common Name: Straight Stitch

Common Name: Holbein Stitch

Related: Plaited Stitch
Creates a close woven filling using Stocking Darn. Over a foundation of Satin Stitches or Surface Satin Stitches, the thread is woven in and out, only catching the fabric at the edges. Best worked in a frame.

Related: Satin Stitch
A Satin Stitch variation that is more economical in its use of thread, but a little tricky to work neatly.

Alternate Name: Sword-edging Stitch Equally attractive as a delicate filling or as a line. Looks more like the hilt of the sword than the edge.

Common Name: Darning Stitch

Common Name: Detached Chain Stitch

Alternate Name: Buttonhole Stitch Related: Buttonhole Stitch

Common Name: Diagonal Basting

Common Name: Knitting Stitch

Alternate Name: Petit Point A canvas, or needlepoint stitch, that can be worked diagonally or horizontally. When worked horizontally a frame is required to avoid excessive distortion of the canvas.

Alternate Name: Bull's Head Stitch, Head of the Bull Stitch Related: Detached Chain Stitch, Detached Wheatear Stitch
Two variations: the first (sometimes called Detached Wheatear Stitch) looks more like a bull's head and is worked with a loose horizontal stitch that is held down in the middle with a Detached Chain Stitch; the second consists of a Detached Chain Stitch and two angled Straight Stitches on either side.

A loose central thread is couched along the line to be stitched with long Straight Stitches that intersect over the foundation thread.

Common Name: Slanted Feather Stitch

Common Name: Sham Hem Stitch

Related: Double Threaded Back Stitch, Whipped Back Stitch
A Back Stitch variation.

Alternate Name: Detached Chain Stitch Threaded|569

Related: Herringbone Stitch
A Herringbone Stitch variation. The lacing can be worked from left to right, or right to left.

Alternate Name: Whipped Running Stitch|115

Alternate Name: Bermuda Faggoting, Lace Stitch, Point Turc, Turkish Stitch Drawn fabric stitch that creates a triangular band.

Common Name: Up & Down Buttonhole Stitch

Common Name: Double Knot Stitch

Related: Closed Herringbone Stitch, Crisscross Herringbone Stitch, Herringbone Stitch
Several variations: 1. Tacked down with small Straight Stitches, 2. Tacked down with Detached Chain Stitches, 3. Zigzag Coral Stitch worked over the Herringbone Stitch. The same methods of tying down can be used as well with Closed Herringbone.

Common Name: Detached Chain Stitch

Alternate Name: Overcast Stitch, Satin Couching Related: Detached Overcast Stitch

Alternate Name: Couched Filling Stitch, Jacobean Couching, Trellis Filling Related: Lattice Couching

Related: Bosnian Stitch
Two mirrored rows of Bosnian Stitch.

A drawn fabric technique.

Common Name: Hungarian Stitch

Alternate Name: Straight Triple Feather Stitch

Alternate Name: Slipped Detached Chain Related: Detached Wheatear Stitch
Detached Chain Stitch with a secondary stitch looped through the chain's anchor stitch.

Alternate Name: Ghiordes Knot, Quilt Knot, Single Knot Tufting, Single Knot Smyrna Rug Stitch, Tufted Knot Stitch, Turkey Rug Knot

Common Name: Three-sided Stitch

Common Name: Long-armed Cross Stitch

Common Name: Overcast Bar

A simple Chain Stitch variation. Worked downwards.

Alternate Name: Faggoting

Common Name: French Knot

Related: Threaded Herringbone Stitch, Tied Herringbone Stitch
A threaded Herringbone Stitch variation.

Common Name: Twisted Straight Stitch

Alternate Name: Twisted Satin Stitch Related: Breton Stitch

Related: Cross Stitch, Marking Cross Stitch
Reversible.

A drawn fabric stitch -- not technically an Insertion Stitch. Reverses to a diamond pattern.

Alternate Name: Arrowhead Cross Stitch, Italian Cross Stitch, Two-sided Italian Stitch

Common Name: Two-sided Italian Cross Stitch

Common Name: Holbein Stitch

Common Name: Montenegrin Cross Stitch

Related: Arrowhead Stitch
Reversible.

Common Name: Holbein Stitch

Related: Blanket Stitch, Buttonhole Filling, Buttonhole Stitch, Double Blanket Stitch
A variation of this stitch, Double Up & Down Stitch, is worked in the same way as Double Blanket Stitch. May also be stitched as a fill as for Buttonhole Filling.

Common Name: Straight Gobelin Stitch

Common Name: Zigzag Chain Stitch

Worked vertically, from top to bottom. May be stitched along two parallel lines for a border, or may be stitched into the form of a leaf.

Related: Turkey Work
A canvas stitch, using thick thread or rug yarn, that creates a piled effect. When stitching is completed, the loops are cut open and trimmed. The loops can be formed over a thick knitting needle to ensure uniformity.

Common Name: Buttonhole Picot