Hand Embroidery Guide: Learn & Explore Stitches

The stem stitch is a versatile, beginner-friendly embroidery stitch that creates a smooth, slightly twisted line — perfect for outlining shapes, lettering, or creating flowing lines like flower stems and vines (hence the name!).

It’s worked by bringing the needle up through the fabric, then taking it back down a short distance along your line, and bringing it back up again halfway between the previous stitch and where your thread first came out. The working thread usually stays either above or below the needle consistently to create the signature rope-like effect.

Once mastered, the stem stitch becomes a go-to for adding elegant, clean detail to your embroidery work.

Tip: Keep your stitches short and even for smooth curves, or slightly longer for flowing lines. 

The split stitch is a simple and versatile embroidery stitch often used for outlines, lettering, or filling shapes. It creates a slightly textured line that looks like a tiny chain of rope.

How to do it:

1. Bring the needle up through the fabric at your starting point.
2. Make a small straight stitch forward, then bring the needle back up through the middle of that stitch, splitting the thread.
3. Repeat this process—always bringing the needle up through the center of the previous stitch—to form a continuous line.

Tips:

• Keep stitches short for a neat, smooth line.
• Slightly longer stitches will give the line more texture.
• Works beautifully for curves and outlines.

The couching stitch is an embroidery technique used to secure a length of thread, yarn, or ribbon onto the surface of the fabric. Instead of passing the main thread in and out of the fabric, it is laid on top and held down with small stitches. This creates bold outlines, decorative textures, or allows you to use threads too thick to stitch through the fabric.

How to do it:

1. Lay your main thread (the one to be couched) across the fabric in the desired shape or line.
2. Bring a second thread (the couching thread) up through the fabric right next to it.
3. Take a tiny stitch over the laid thread, securing it to the fabric, and go back down through the fabric.
4. Repeat at even intervals until the entire line is held down.

Tips:

• Use a contrasting couching thread for decorative effect, or match it to the laid thread to make it invisible.
• Spacing between couching stitches can be varied for texture.
• Often used in goldwork, lettering, and bold outlines.

The backstitch is one of the most versatile and widely used embroidery stitches. It creates a strong, continuous line that’s perfect for outlines, lettering, and adding fine details to your designs.

To work the backstitch, bring the needle up through the fabric, take a stitch backward along the line, then bring the needle up a short distance ahead to repeat. The stitches connect neatly, forming a smooth, solid line.

Because of its durability and precision, the backstitch is often used for both decorative embroidery and practical sewing.

Uses: outlining, lettering, detail work, sewing seams.

The running stitch is one of the simplest and most fundamental embroidery stitches. It creates a dashed line made up of small, even stitches and spaces.

To work the running stitch, bring the needle up through the fabric, then weave it in and out along your line, keeping the stitches and gaps as even as possible.

This stitch is lightweight and versatile — often used for outlines, decorative borders, or gathering fabric. It’s also a great beginner stitch for practicing control and spacing.

Uses: outlining, borders, quilting, gathering fabric.

The chain stitch is a classic embroidery stitch that creates a linked, chain-like line. It’s decorative yet versatile, often used for outlines, borders, or filling shapes with texture.

To make a chain stitch, bring the needle up through the fabric, loop the thread under the needle, and pull through to form a loop. Repeat by inserting the needle a short distance ahead and catching the loop each time. The result is a series of interlocking “chains.”

 

Uses: outlines, borders, lettering, filling areas with texture.

The French knot is a decorative stitch that creates small, raised dots on the fabric surface. It’s perfect for adding texture, detail, and accents like flower centers, eyes, or scattered embellishments.

To make a French knot, bring the needle up through the fabric, wrap the thread around the needle once or twice, then insert the needle back into the fabric very close to the starting point (but not in the exact same hole). Pull the thread gently to form a neat little knot on the surface.

Uses: texture, flower centers, accents, scattered decorative details.

The whipped wheel stitch is a decorative, circular stitch that creates a raised, woven effect resembling a flower or rosette. It adds texture and dimension, making it a favorite for floral motifs and bold embellishments.

To work the whipped wheel, start by stitching straight lines (spokes) radiating out from a center point, like a wheel. Then, bring the thread up near the center and weave it over and under the spokes in a circular motion until the wheel is filled. The weaving builds a raised, textured effect.

Uses: floral designs, circular motifs, textured embellishments.

The woven wheel stitch is a beautiful, textured embroidery stitch that creates a rose-like circular motif. It’s especially popular for floral designs because of its raised, woven appearance.

To make the woven wheel stitch, begin by stitching an odd number of straight stitches (spokes) radiating from a center point. Then bring the needle up near the center and start weaving the thread over and under the spokes in a spiral motion. Continue weaving until the spokes are covered and the “wheel” looks full.

Uses: flowers, circular motifs, textured accents.

The buttonhole stitch (also called blanket stitch) is a versatile edging stitch that creates a neat row of linked loops. It’s traditionally used to reinforce buttonholes and fabric edges, but it’s also a favorite decorative stitch in embroidery.

To make the buttonhole stitch, bring the needle up at the fabric edge, insert it a short distance away, and bring the needle back out at the edge while catching the working thread under the needle tip. Pull through to form a loop along the edge, then repeat. The result is a line of evenly spaced loops.

Uses: edging, borders, appliqué, decorative outlines, reinforcing buttonholes.

The buttonhole wheel stitch is a circular variation of the buttonhole stitch, forming a decorative wheel or flower-like shape. It adds texture and works beautifully for floral motifs, mandalas, or round accents.

To make the buttonhole wheel, bring the needle up at the circle’s edge. Insert the needle back into the center and, as you bring it out again on the circle’s edge, catch the thread under the needle to form a loop. Continue working evenly around the circle until it’s complete, creating a ring of buttonhole stitches radiating from the center.

Uses: flowers, circular motifs, textured decorative accents.

The satin stitch is a smooth filling stitch used to cover areas of fabric with solid blocks of color. It creates a shiny, satin-like surface, making it ideal for petals, leaves, and other shapes that need a bold, filled look.

To make the satin stitch, bring the needle up at one edge of the shape, then insert it at the opposite edge, laying the thread flat across the fabric. Continue placing stitches side by side, close together, until the shape is completely filled. Keeping the stitches even and parallel gives the best finish.

Uses: filling shapes, petals, leaves, bold decorative details.