Here are some basic Embroidery Stitches and tips that I use all the time here at Flamingo Toes!
These are great beginner stitches – if you are just learning Embroidery they are a great place to start!
Bring your needle up about 1/8″ from the beginning of your line.
That is your “A” point. Pull your thread through. Put your needle back down at “B”, bring it back up at “C”.
For the next stitch, you’ll repeat the process – up at “A”, down at “B”, up at “C”.
When you get to a point, just make your “C” point across the point. This will allow you to have nice pointed lines.
You can find the Backstitch in these Projects:
For the Stem Stitch, the point where your thread comes up is “A”. Insert your needle at “B” and bring it back out at “C”.
The distance between A, B, & C should be the equal.
Keep your loose thread above the stitch, and repeat, following the picture below. Your needle will come out at a point touching the end of the previous stitch.
Continue stitching this way following all lines and curves. If your stitches start to “fall” or don’t lay flat on a curve, do a small stitch around the stem stitch to hold it in place.
Close to the point that the thread comes out of the fabric, hold your needle and wrap the thread around the needle 3 times.
Hold the end of the thread with your thumb, and with your other hand put the needle point back in right next to where you brought it up.
Pull the needle through the wrapped thread, holding lightly to the end until it’s all pulled through. This will form a French Knot!
The Lazy Daisy Stitch looks like a teardrop just a bit, or the petals of a flower.
Bring your thread up at the bottom center of the teardrop shapes. Put your needle back in at that point and bring it partially back through at the top of the teardrop shape. Wrap the tail of the thread loosely around the point of the needle.
With the thread still wrapped around the needle, pull the needle through the fabric. This will make a little loop with the thread coming up inside the loop at the top. Don’t pull too tight or it won’t have a pretty arched shape.
Put the needle back through at the top of the teardrop shape on the outside. This will hold the little loop in place.
This is super easy and not scary at all. Start by bringing your needle up about 1/4″ below the edge of the fabric piece, or the piece you are sewing on.
In this case, the brown felt.
Sew a little stitch about 1/4″ from the left of this one, putting the needle 1/4″ below the edge of the felt and bringing it out just above the felt. Make sure the needle passes over the loop of thread.
Repeat this last step again to start forming the blanket stitch.
Sew all the way around the piece until you come back to the beginning. For the last stitch, loop it through the first stitch to make the thread lay flat.
How to Finish the Back of an Embroidery Hoop Art project:
How to embroidery Woven Roses or Wagon Wheel Flowers:
Rochelle says
July 23, 2012 at 3:23 amThis was sent on stumble. Very helpful. Only the coffee is too dark. Wish I could see blanket stitch, brown is just to dark to see stitch. Thank you.
Beverly says
July 23, 2012 at 9:21 amThanks Rochelle! And that’s great feedback! I’ll work on redoing the blanket stitch photos so they are easier to see.
~Bev
Nancy says
September 20, 2012 at 8:09 amAwesome! I love learning new stitches! :D
Shirley says
October 30, 2012 at 10:22 amThis is just what I need. I bought a very simple black sweater and wanted to embroider on it but didn’t know how nor where to start. Thank you for the clear well done instructions. I agree about the blanket stitch not having enough contrast but that is one thing i know how to do from my quilting:):) Thanks again…
MammaNene says
August 23, 2013 at 2:40 amI’m in love with hand embbroidery for embellishment on clothes I sew… and I am an absolute beginner, so: thank you so much for sharing: Pinned!!!
MammaNene@ SergerPepper
Rebecca Hamilton says
October 1, 2013 at 9:02 pmJust want you to know how much I have enjoyed looking at your work. It is so beautiful. I plan to make the Mason Jar dish towel. Thanks so much for sharing. Love your web site!!! God bless you!!! Rebecca from Loganville, GA
Cheryl says
February 24, 2014 at 6:11 pmThank you,this was very well done.
Sunalini Rana says
May 1, 2014 at 9:48 pmYou are so talented. Website bookmarked.
Jacquie says
May 27, 2014 at 5:46 pmThanks so much for these! Do you happen to have a tutorial on how to transfer the pattern onto fabric?
Irena says
May 28, 2014 at 5:27 pmThank you for your tutorials and your lovely embroideries
Meghan says
June 1, 2014 at 10:10 pmThis makes me want to learn embroidery! I’m going to have to give it a shot. The French knots are just adorable as little roses. :)
Felice Morin says
May 14, 2015 at 11:50 amThese pictures are awesome for illustrating the process! I’ve been trying to teach my neighbor’s kids to embroider for the past few weeks and I think they’re really starting to like it. You can make a lot of cute home designs with some basic embroidery skills. Many of the current sewing machines can embroider complex designs that would be a bit tougher to do by hand. I love your blog, thanks for sharing!
Beverly says
May 14, 2015 at 2:45 pmThanks so much Felice! I’m so glad you like the photos! I have plans to have a whole embroidery stitch series this summer so I’ll be adding lots more tutorials to the list! :)
Kelly Delaney says
March 2, 2016 at 6:35 amThanks, Bev! This is so helpful! All of the stitches are easy and simple! Again, thanks!
Lisa says
June 10, 2016 at 1:34 pmPlease more stitches :-)
JaneEllen says
July 2, 2016 at 8:41 pmFind myself needing to keep my mind off other matters, think doing some embroidery would be therapeutic. Used to embroider often when younger but have gotten out of habit due to arthritis in both hands/wrists and nerve damage in right hand/arm. Can’t do much for any length of time. Plus these old eyes aren’t what they used to be, such fun getting older, lol.
But want to keep hands busy as long as they’ll do what I tell them. There are some really cute cross stitch patterns to make which are shared by Country Living each month. Between what you offer and CL projects think can keep myself occupied (need to stay off this machine long enuf also). Winter is usually good time for me to start when am kept in by weather. We live in western CO.
Your patterns and projects have captured my attention and desire to make some handmade items. Sure glad I clicked on your posts. Have wonderful holiday weekend
Lorena says
July 12, 2016 at 4:04 amI have done some embroidery lately and I really enjoy it. These stitch tutorials are really interesting. I will be 70 this year and the craft bug has bitten me. I enjoy a variety of things and have taken some classes on Craftsy to learn some new things. EPP and Foundation paper piecing are 2 of my favorites.
I love your blog and all your creative ideas. You have a great sense of humor also.
Emily @ My Mom Made That says
May 10, 2017 at 10:39 amBev,
I’m a fairly experienced embroiderer, and I still have problems figuring out how to get my french knot just the right size. Sometimes it’s way too big and sometimes it’s so small it doesn’t look like a knot.
Any tips?
Beverly says
May 10, 2017 at 3:07 pmHi Emily!
I adjust my French Knots to the project – so if it’s a small design like a necklace or something, I use tiny knots and if it’s a hoop I like them a little larger. I usually do that by changing the number of times I wrap the thread around the needle before I pull it through the fabric. So for me an large knot is wrapped three times, a medium knot is wrapped twice and a small knot is wrapped once. Does that make sense? I also find that holding the thread in place with my left hand as I’m pulling it through the fabric gives me a more stable knot.
I hope that helps! French Knots were such a trial to me for years! :) If you need any more help feel free to email me too. :)
Bev
wendy macleod says
June 27, 2017 at 3:52 amThanks for the starter stiches they will help get me started on what I want to make my new hobby. Nothing I seem to like better then embroidery, it just makes everything look so delicate.
Reyhane says
February 8, 2018 at 6:11 pmThank you so much for sharing the details of your gorgeous artworks! I especially love the air balloon and the camper and started working on the camper a few days ago. But, I guess I’m doing something wrong :| I purchased a needle and it says that it is for tapestry and now notice that it is named as round end. It is very hard to use it in the fabric. What do you think? Do you think it is because of the needle? Which needle is best for the cute cotton fabrics that you use all the time? Can you talk about it a little bit more? Thanks much and keep up the good work :)
JaneEllen says
February 16, 2018 at 8:17 pmDidn’t think would hurt to have some refresher ideas for some or even all of stitches, been long time since I enjoyed embroidery. Thanks to you and couple others will be taking it up again. You do such wonderful work and tutorials are great for needing refreshing of how to’s. Think embroidery will keep me busy.
Especially need to give credit to youngest grand daughter who has inspired me most of All. She gave me a gorgeous piece she embroidered of satin flowers, (she is self taught). Found perfect frame to put piece in luckily to show case her wonderful work. Will share some patterns with her. She is a natural embroiderer, makes up her own patterns as she goes.
Maybe when she comes home from college next year we can do some embroidery together, will miss her so much.. Will be her first year of college. Will never tell her but wish she was going to college here locally but they have to spread their wings. So hard to let them go. Happy weekend
Thx for all the incredible patterns you share with us.