Did you know that you can do a lot with simple embroidery stitches? Basic hand work embroidery designs can go a long way for presents, gifts and decorating. You do not have to learn different complex stitches from various needlework books. More often than not you will find these complex stitches put off a lot of people who want to learn embroidery stitching. But with simple embroidery stitches, you can learn them one step at a time and build on these basic stitches to create attractive designs. Before you know it, you will be creating beautiful handiwork that others will certainly admire.

History of Embroidery Stitches

Even though they are used for decorative purposes, a lot of basic hand work embroidery designs can be used for functional purposes. In the past, these simple embroidery stitches were often used for making household linen easily identifiable, and to ensure that the right clothing will return from the laundry. Most of these basic stitches were also used not just to put designs, but to craft the fabric itself, such as in the case of needle lace.

In the Victorian era, basic hand work embroidery designs were used for decorating and holding the seams in place using elaborate quilt blocks. Today, there is a very popular technique known as “crazy quilting” which offers a perfect base for you to practice various simple stitches and combinations. If you do not have a large enough piece of cloth, you can take several small pieces of fabric and sew them together using simple embroidery stitches to create a crazy quilt. You don’t need to limit yourself to sewing just the seams because you can always stitch motifs right into the middle of your patches to highlight your continuously growing skills.

5 Basic Stitches you can turn into Complex Looking Designs

You should start mastering  basic embroidery stitches first before moving on to more complicated designs. Start with these basic stitches first, and you will be able to create beautiful embroidery work in no time.

1. Back Stitch – It’s the first embroidery stitch you need to master before any other basic stitches.  With a back stitch, you can make an outline to create a more “structured look” for your pieces.
2. Blanket Stitch – This basic stitch is quite similar to a back stitch, but you can use a blanket stitch to make a nice edging for your fabric, or just to hold two pieces of fabric together.
3. Chain Stitch – It consists of a chain-like or petal-like pattern to fill out spaces or create a beautiful outline.
4. Buttonhole Stitch –  You can do a lot of hand embroidery with a buttonhole stitch such as crazy quilting, filet work, etc.  It looks somewhat like a blanket stitch, but the sewing technique used is quite different.
5. Cross Stitch – It’s a very simple embroidery pattern in which you just make x-shaped stitches, which should cross exactly the same way. This stitch is quite a popular method if you want to create an embroidery pattern from photos or pictures.

What can you do with just a basic embroidery stitch? Well, how about doing a wonderful cross-stitched image? All you need to do is follow a pattern or a chart, and you will know exactly which color to use for your handmade embroidery designs.

However, if you do not want to deal with the hassle of changing colors, you can try BlackWork which often works perfectly using a single shade of thread, as well as either a double running stitch or a backstitch. This is very easy to do and in the process, you might be surprised that you are already creating complex-looking patterns even though you are merely using simple embroidery stitches. Your friends will think that you have fully mastered the art of the needle, when in fact you are only using basic stitches in your designs.

Turn Your Simple Embroidery Stitches Into Work of Art

Some of these simple embroidery stitches are often used in a number of ways to create a wide variety of needle work techniques. For example, a basic satin stitch can be used to create petal designs in your crewel embroidery. You can also use it to make kloster blocks if you are creating a Norwegian Hardanger. You can also use it to wrap up the canvas when you are stitching a needlepoint cushion, or draw the stitches tighter in a Danish Pulled Thread. All these use basic stitches but there are a number of things you can do with this simple embroidery skill.

Even the simplest embroidery stitch can be used to create a wide variety of embroidery designs. There are various simple embroidery stitches, and some of them are:  knotted, looped, cross stitch, straight and chained stitches among others. They can also be worked in thick yarns, cottons, fine silks and even ribbons to create wonderful hand work embroidery designs. So isn’t this the ideal time for you to start learning simple embroidery stitches and create your own wonderful works of art on cloth?