Embroidery Definitions — definitions of embroidery techniques, stitches and needlework terms from Apparel Search
In embroidery, a stitch is defined by the movement of the needle from the backside of the fabric to the front side and back again, and the thread stroke on the front side produced by this is also called a stitch. An embroidery stitch means one or more such stitches always executed in the same way, forming a figure of recognisable look. Embroidery stitches are the smallest units in embroidery, and patterns are formed by doing many of them, all the same or in combination.
Embroidery stitches are the smallest units in embroidery, embroidery patterns are formed by doing many embroidery stitches, either all the same or different ones, either following a counting chart on paper, following a design painted on the fabric or even working freehand
Common Stitches
Embroidery uses various stitches and combinations of stitches. Each embroidery stitch has a special name to help identify it, and although they are mostly simple to execute, when you put them together the results can be extremely complex.
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| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/embroidery_stitch). 1/31/05 |
Nearly every named stitch is simple to execute alone — a loop, a cross, a knot, a straight pass of the needle. Complexity in embroidery is combinatorial: the same chain stitch becomes an outline, a filling worked in rows, or a flower petal as lazy daisy, depending on scale, spacing and company. That is why stitch dictionaries matter and why each stitch carries a special name: the name is a unit of instruction that a pattern can invoke the way a recipe invokes a technique, certain the reader can reproduce the figure exactly. Patterns are then formed by doing many stitches, all the same or different, following a counting chart, a design painted on the fabric, or working freehand — the three working methods that divide counted, surface and free embroidery.
Stitches are selected for what they do, not only how they look. An edging stitch such as blanket stitch must bind a raw edge against fraying; a filling stitch must cover ground at a reasonable speed without pulling it out of shape; a line stitch must turn corners at the radius the design demands — stem stitch curves smoothly, while Holbein stitch steps in counted increments and stays reversible, which is why it serves blackwork and Assisi work where the back of the piece may be seen. Knots sit on the surface and cast a shadow, so they read as texture and accent rather than line. Specialist stitches mark the far end of the vocabulary: pendant couching, Bokhara couching and square laid work refine a single act — tying a laid thread down — into distinct patterns, and the Quaker stitch was invented for one tapestry's lettering, proof that the stitch vocabulary still grows when a design needs a behavior no existing stitch provides.
In everyday language a stitch is the movement of the embroidery needle from the back of the fabric to the front and back to the back side; the thread stroke left on the front is also called a stitch. An embroidery stitch in the technical sense is one or more of these, always executed the same way, forming a figure of recognisable look.
Back stitch outlines shapes, stem stitch is used for lines and stems and also as an infilling stitch, and running stitch makes simple dashed lines. Holbein stitch, the double running stitch, produces a smoother line identical on both sides of the fabric.
Blanket stitch edges and prevents fraying while also decorating; chain stitch and lazy daisy build looped lines and flower shapes; cross-stitch fills counted designs; French knots and bullion knots, worked by twisting thread around the needle, dot surfaces as filling or in a line; couching attaches a thread to fabric by sewing it on; and whip stitch wraps an edge or a laid thread.