Backstitch
Backstitch or back stitch and its variants stem stitch, outline stitch and split stitch are a class of
fabric. The small stitches done back-and-forth makes the back stitch the strongest stitch among the basic stitches.[1] Hence it can be used to sew strong seams by hand, without a sewing machine.[2]
Description of the technique
A versatile stitch which is easy to work, backstitch is ideal for following both simple and intricate outlines and as a foundation row for more complex embroidery stitches such as herringbone ladder filling stitch. Although superficially similar to the
blackwork embroidery
, backstitch differs in the way it is worked, requiring only a single journey to complete a line of stitching.
Basic backstitch is the stitch used to outline shapes in modern
blackwork
.
Stem stitch is an ancient technique; surviving mantles embroidered with stem stitch by the
couching or laid-work.[4]
Split stitch in silk is characteristic of
Medieval England.[4]
Backstitch is most easily worked on an
even-weave fabric, where the threads can be counted to ensure regularity, and is generally executed from right to left.[5]
The stitches are worked in a 'two steps forward, one step back' fashion, along the line to be filled, as shown in the diagram.
Neatly worked in a straight line this stitch resembles chain stitching produced by a sewing machine.
The back stitch can also be used as a hand sewing utility stitch to attach two pieces of fabric together.[1]
Variants
Variants of backstitch include:
- Basic backstitch or point de sable.
- Threaded backstitch
- Pekinese stitch, a looped interlaced backstitch
- Stem stitch, in which each stitch overlaps the previous stitch to one side, forming a twisted line of stitching, with the thread passing below the needle. It is generally used for outlining shapes and for stitching flower stems[6] and tendrils.
- Whipped back stitch using thread of a different color than the original stitch, the needle is passed under the stitch without piercing the fabric, repeated to create a colorful twisted effect
- Outline stitch, sometimes distinguished from stem stitch in that the thread passes above rather than below the needle.
- Split stitch, in which the needle pierces the thread rather than returning to one side.
- Ringed back stitch, back stitches are worked to create half rings, these are completed by a second row of stitches to form ring outlines
Stitch gallery
-
Pekinese stitch -
Stem stitch -
Whipped stem stitch -
Split stitch
See also
Look up stem stitch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- Assisi embroidery
- Blackwork embroidery
- Cross-stitch
- Embroidery stitches
Notes
- ^ a b "Back Stitch". Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
- ^ How to do the Back Stitch, archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2020-06-22
- ISBN 0-442-22318-8, p. 65
- ^ ISBN 1-85177-126-3
- ^ "Understanding the Backstitch". Teach You To Sew. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
- ISBN 0-89577-059-8, p. 48
References
- Caulfield, S.F.A., and B.C. Saward, The Dictionary of Needlework, 1885.
- Eaton, Jan. Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches, Revised by Jan Eaton. London: Hodder&Stoughton, 1989. ISBN 0-340-51075-7
- Enthoven, Jacqueline: The Creative Stitches of Embroidery, Van Norstrand Rheinhold, 1964, ISBN 0-442-22318-8
- Reader's Digest, Complete Guide to Needlework. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (March 1992). ISBN 0-89577-059-8
- Levey, S. M. and D. King, The Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection Vol. 3: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1993, ISBN 1-85177-126-3
- Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials.
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