Technique - Chain Stitch

This common embroidery stitch is an easy way to create bold outlines. Large areas can be filled by building up parallel rows of chain stitch.


To create the stitch:
1: Stitch up through the fabric where you want your chain to start - point A.
2: Stitch back down into the exact same hole you stitched up through. Do not pull your thread all the way through.
3: Stitch up at point B, making sure the needle goes through the loop.
4: Tighten the thread neatly, so that there's no loose thread but so that the chain loop is still a loop.
5: Stitch down at point B, continuing the same stitch up and down through the same hole, catching each loop of thread process. The back of the work will be a line of straight stitches.

The distance between stitches is primarily determined by the weight of the thread - small stitches for fine thread, larger stitches for heavier thread - and what you think looks best.