Stitch with Love. Mandy Shaw

at one time as it will be more prone to knotting, and more vulnerable to fraying and splitting.

       Start the embroideries with a small knot on the wrong side of the work. To avoid the knot being seen from the front of the work, do keep it small.

       When rejoining a thread, use your needle to weave the new thread into the previous stitches.

       When you have finished your embroidery, weave the thread into the previous sewn work.

       Do not leave long strands hanging on the back as these may show through on the front.

      Keep your embroidery and fabric scissors sharp and never be tempted to use them for cutting paper.

      You may find a hoop useful when stitching the infill chain stitching.

       RUNNING STITCH

      Run the needle in and out of the fabric for a simple but versatile line stitch.

       Can be used to:

       Outline and accentuate shapes

       Create veins in leaves

       Sew two layers together

      No one said running stitch had to run in a straight line. In this detail from the Gardener’s Tidy it is used to indicate the buzzing bee’s flight path, and it has the added advantage of sewing the back and front layers of fabric together.

      You can take more than one stitch on your needle at a time, but take care to keep stitches even.

      Right-handers

      Work from right to left. Bring the needle up through the fabric, make a stitch, and bring the needle down through the fabric again. Repeat, making sure the stitches and the spaces between the stitches are the same size.

      Left-handers

      Work from left to right. Bring the needle up through the fabric, make a stitch, and bring the needle down through the fabric again. Repeat, making sure the stitches and the spaces between the stitches are the same size.

       BACKSTITCH

      This is the perfect stitch when a well-defined outline is required.

       Can be used to:

       Outline shapes and highlight details

       Write words and numbers

       Create flower stems

      Right-handers

      Work from right to left. Begin by bringing the needle up a little ahead of where you want the line of stitching to start. Take the needle to the right, to the start position, back through the fabric to make a stitch, and bring it out to the left past the first stitch.

      Although this needs a little practise to get neat and even, an uneven stitch can look nice too.

      Each time a stitch is made, the thread passes back to fill the gap, for small stitches of an equal length.

      Left-handers

      Work from left to right. Begin by bringing the needle up a little ahead of where you want to start the stitching. Take the needle to the left, to the start position, back through the fabric to make a stitch, and bring it out to the right past the first stitch.

      Each time a stitch is made, the thread passes back to fill the gap, for small stitches of an equal length.

       STEM STITCH

      An outline stitch with neatly overlapping lines.

       Can be used to:

       Represent the stems of flowers as detail, right

       Follow curves easily, but not on small motifs

       Create texture

      Right-handers

      Work from left to right. Bring the needle up at the start point and make a stitch forward. Take a tiny stitch backwards from right to left. Pull the needle through, keeping the thread above the needle.

      Keep your stitches quite small as they do tend to grow in length.

      Take another small stitch to the right bringing the needle out near the hole of the last stitch.

      As you continue to stitch the stitches take on a diagonal slant.

      Left-handers

      Work from right to left. Bring the needle up at the start point and make a stitch backward. Take a tiny stitch forwards from left to right. Pull the needle through, keeping the thread above the needle.

      Take another small stitch to the left bringing the needle out near the hole of the last stitch.

      As you continue to stitch the stitches take on a diagonal slant.

       CHAIN STITCH

      A series of looped stitches worked to form a chain-like pattern.

      Aim