Stitches

Designs From Margaret Lee

How To Order
Retail
Wholesale

Stitches - Tips & Tricks

Once upon a time at www.margaretlee.com (the designer) you could find lots of helpful information on stitching tips and tricks. As time passed a little computer gremlin invaded her computer and website destroying everything in its path... It was a very sad time...

The gremlin was evicted and slowly information is being recovered and thus will be magically appearing on this page.

Cross Stitch:

A very old hard wearing stitch used primarily on evenweave fabrics.

Cross stitches made in the traditional method have survived on many antique samplers dispute the deterioration of the fabric.

Tips:

The top stitch for all cross stitches should fall in the same direction (mine slope upwards from left to right...it is also correct if you choose to have all the top stitches slope downward from left to right).
Try to come up in least shared hole and down in the most shared hole.
For each section of a color, decide if you will be using the Traditional Method or the Danish method. If you use two methods in the same section of color, on the front you can often see a "line" or "indentation" where it changes.

English (Traditional) Method - each cross stitch is made one at a time. It is often used when stitching columns of cross stitches because it makes a vertical line on the back of the fabric.

Working horizontally produces a horizontal line on the back of the fabric with one line heavier than the other.
Working vertically produces a vertical line on the back of the fabric.

Danish Method - the lower half of the cross stitch is made on the first journey and the upper half is made on the return journey. It is often used when doing rows of cross stitches because it makes a vertical line on the back of the fabric.

Back Stitch:

A line stitch which appears slightly raised as compared to the Holbein stitch.

It is often used for detailing and to outline or define shapes.

If several stitches share a hole, as in when an area is filled with cross-stitches, the backstitch helps make a smoother finish to the line.

The back stitch can be worked on any type of fabric and should be worked in small even stitches. The length of a backstitch should not be longer than the space of one cross-stitch unless absolutely necessary.

The Holbein Stitch

The Holbein Stitch is very old and is used for Assisi work and blackwork. It is a simple reversible line stitch well suited for outlines and linear details such as letters, numbers and vines. It tends to produce a much smoother line than the back stitch.

The Holbein stitch is known by various names including the double running stitch, true stitch, Spanish stitch, writing stitch, line stitch, Chiara stitch, and two-sided line stitch.

Perhaps in an effort to create a standard, the stitch is named for Hans Holbein (1497-1543), a painter of 16th-century English portraits. He is best known for his portraits of Henry VIII and his children, in which Blackwork. and the "double running stitch" were used as decoration on shirt collars, ruffs, cuffs, and linens.

The Holbein stitch is worked with two journeys of running stitches in which the thread tension is kept even. The first journey is indicated by the white stitches below, and the return stitches are shaded.

Steps:

1. The stitch begins with an evenly spaced running stitch.

2. For the return journey, repeat step 1, filling in the spaces between existing stitches by sharing the same holes used on the first journey. (It is easier to work if you turn the fabric 180 degrees.)

There are three methods you can choose from for the return journey:

a. Brick - when all the stitches made in the return journey are above the thread of the first journey.

b. Intertwined - when the stitches made in the return journey come up above the thread of the first journey and go down below it.

After adjusting the thread tension, your stitches will line up something like this:

c. Pierced - when the stitches made in the return journey pierce the thread of the first journey (best for heavier threads or when using two strands of floss).

Side Journeys: If the design has side journeys, complete them as you work the main pattern of the first journey.

I hope that you will try the Holbein stitch and experiment with it using various threads and fabrics.

Happy Stitching!

Margaret Lee

An article on the Holbein Stitch by Margaret Lee Rigiel was published in NeedleArts, a publication of The Embroiderers' Guild of America, INC.

Volume XXIX, Number 4, December 1998 , page 16.

All content within this site is the sole property of Margaret Lee and may not be used in any part or form.

You may not reproduce, copy, or redistribute images, designs, or logos without express written consent.

209 Summer Tree, Holts Summit, MO 65043

Email: designs@margaretlee.com