Chain stitch
Running/ straight stitch
Running stitch is one of the most useful stitches. It can be used to outline or padding under another stitch. For shorter lengths or detail, it can be referred to as straight stitch. Bring the needle up at 1, down at 2, up at 3 and so on. The stitches and the spaces between them are usually the same length but you can vary this for effect. If you find it difficult to get your stitches the same length, you can put pencil dots
on to your fabric as a guide.
Chain stitch
Chain stitch works well as a decorative outline as it curves easily and looks particularly effective stitched in spirals. ( It can serve as a filling stitch.) It gives quite a definite, thicker line than backstitch or stem stitch. Work from right to left bringing the needle up at 1, down at 2 and up at 3, making
sure that the thread is under the needle. Pull the needle through slowly to form a neat loop – do not pull too tightly or the ‘ chain’ effect will be lost. You can add pencil dots to
your fabric to help get the length of each ‘ link’ even.
Stem stitch
Stem stitch can be used to follow any shape and is particularly good for curved lines and emphasising other
stitches. It forms a solid raised line with a textured appearance. Bring the needle up just above the design line at 1, down at 2 below the design line and back up at 3. Continue in this way, always working back on yourself. Point 3 forms point 1 of the next stitch. If you only learn
one outline stitch, make it this one.
Scallop stitch
Scallop stitch can be used as an outline stitch and also as a border stitch, making it a very useful addition to your repertoire. Make a small straight stitch in your fabric. Bring
the needle up on the curve of the scallop, catching the partial loop of thread. Pull the loop of thread taut, but not too tight – leaving it looser will give a lovely curve to your finished stitch. Go back down through the fabric, tacking the stitch in place. This stitch is very similar to fly stitch,
which we look at in the border stitch section.